A few hours with Dave Clark

Who: Dave Clark, executive chef.

Learned to cook: Clark’s passion for food started when he was 7 years old. With guidance from his mother, he studied cookbooks and magazines, trying out various recipes on family and friends. At 17, he decided to study at the Culinary Institute of America. Clark started working at the Vestal Steakhouse to fulfill the institute’s prerequisite of working at least six months in a professional kitchen. At 18, Clark was accepted to study at the institute, but was doing so well at the popular Vestal eatery that owner Guido Iacovelli made him an attractive offer to stay in his kitchen. Clark has worked with and learned from several area chefs, but credits John Urdianyk, himself a Culinary Institute grad, for being his mentor.

Favorite dish to make: Wood fired NY strip steak. “The New York strip steak has the highest flavor profile (of red meats)…wood enhances that flavor.”

Favorite guilty pleasure: Waking up every morning to 9 week-old daughter Avery Sophia. Golf and football are a distant second.

Chef Dave Clark, of Endwell, doesn’t have bad hair days. First, because his brush cut leaves little opportunity for hair drama in the morning. Plus, his girlfriend, Christine Zacheis is an accomplished hair stylist. So what’s that have to do with food? Surprisingly, everything. Zacheis likes to tell the story about a client of hers shopping at the Oakdale Mall after a visit under her scissors.

“Vicki Tedeschi, who was also at the mall, saw her haircut and loved it,” Zacheis said proudly. “She (Tedeschi) got my name and called right up for an appointment.” When Tedeschi arrived for the hair appointment, she told Zacheis about the restaurant she and her husband Mark were opening in Conklin, the Moxie Woodfire Grill. Zacheis mentioned that her boyfriend was a chef and gave Tedeschi Clark’s telephone number. The rest is history.

Clark remembers his first visit to the cosmopolitan eatery.

“I walked in was blown away!” he said. “a restaurant that finally has the décor that matches my passion for cooking.”

And Clark is a passionate guy. Whether he’s grilling steaks at Moxie or in his own backyard, he lives and cooks large. So it’s no surprise that what he likes to cook on his night off for family is no different that what he cooks at work.

“This is my place, my restaurant,” he said, preheating the oven.

Tonight, Clark is making a family favorite, Garlic Chilean Sea Bass. He starts with two 8-ounce fillets of fresh sea bass. After seasoning the fish with salt and pepper, he rolls the fillets in flour before searing them in a skillet coated with olive oil. Searing them seals in juices and natural flavor. Once the fillets are golden brown, he removes them from the skillet and places them in a baking dish. He then spoons a mix of pureed roasted garlic and egg white over the fish before patting a blend of seasoned breadcrumbs and Romano cheese onto the top of the fillets. Next, he places the dish, uncovered, in the oven for 12 minutes at 400 degrees.

While the fish bakes, Clark wipes out the skillet he browned the fillets in and, placing it over medium heat, sautés 3 cloves of sliced roasted garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil. He then adds the artichoke hearts, basil and roasted peppers. He continues to sauté the blend for 2 minutes and then deglazes the pan with 3 ounces of white wine before adding 3 ounces of chicken stock. Stirring frequently, he then blends in a tablespoon of butter and rolls a second tablespoon of butter in flour before adding it to the sauce. The floured butter adds a little more substance to his sauce. When the butter has nearly melted, Clark removes the skillet from the heat and spoons portions onto plates. Next, he adds a dollop of fresh spinach sautéed with garlic and then tops the dish with the sea bass fillets.

Dave, being Dave, throws a skewer of shrimp and cherry tomatoes over the top of his dish. The emphasis here being “over the top.”