Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Burrell.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’ve been a professional cook all my life and a Chef for the past 25 years. I started in Florida as a busboy at South Seas Plantation on Captiva Island where within months I was thrown into the kitchen as my personality wasn’t stuffy dining room friendly. Once in the kitchen it took no time before I was placed on the line and got my first taste of the rush.
My best training came from an Old English Saucier at the Holiday Inn O’hare who gave me the joy of learning proper Mother Sauces, soups and entree’s. The other great influence on my style of cooking and love for fine sauces was Guy Petite at Cricket’s in Chicago. Guy was Chef for Francines in Chicago in the true glory days of French Cooking in Chicago. I was a young punk and he a somewhat stuffy Frenchman but I respected him greatly.
I’ve made the rounds at some fine (and a few not so fine) establishments in the Chicago area including Saucier for Hyatt Regency O’Hare, 1st Cook at Crickets in the Tremont Hotel, Sous Chef at Chez Paul, Sous Chef for Lettuce Entertain You Foodlife, Exec Chef for Durty Nellies in Palatine and a number of Golf Clubs. I also taught cooking part time at Triton Community College for five years.
I also have a love for music, I’ve always played guitar and sang in bands that played out and in 1995 my band became the house band at Dick’s Last Resort downtown and we ended up playing 7 nights a week for twelve years! I could not do all seven while cooking for Lettuce at the time so I sub’d out on Mondays and Tuesdays. Needless to say my plate was pretty full. To this day we still play three or four times a month at Dick’s, 22 years!
Anyhow, after keeping myself pretty darn busy all those years my wife and I finally had a couple of kids. I decided to not work every night and be home to be with them. That’s when I took the job at Nellies and also did some freelance consulting. Then five years ago I noticed the neighborhood diner had been sitting closed for a long while so I inquired into it and ended up taking it over.
It took some time but we have built it into a local favorite spot which has been, for its small size, the delight of my life as it is mine and people love it.
Has it been a smooth road?
There are always struggles in any area of life. For me the hardest part was my inability to conform to the system, I guess that’s why I became a cook. Cooks in the old days were odd balls and did not quite fit into “normal” society for the most part. I had a few opportunities to advance my career on a corporate level and every time when it came down to it, I just couldn’t see myself in that environment. I used to ask myself what I would have become if I towed the corporate line but I have come to terms with the fact I am myself and for good or for bad I have kept my individuality.
Cooking has always been easy for me, the politics and power plays of others is the hard part. Many times especially when I was a young cook, power playing young managers told me I have a bad attitude or I couldn’t have fun in the kitchen and some wrote me up but they never fired me because I ran their line. The beauty of being on a line during a rush is you do not have to think of anything but getting the job done.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Edgebrook Coffee Shop & Diner story. Tell us more about the business.
The Edgebrook Diner specializes in straight up, freshly cooked and some say inventive breakfast and lunch. We make our own Corned Beef, Pulled Pork, Low-Fat Chicken Chorizo and Breakfast sausage. We do not pre-cook anything, everything is diced fresh that day and prepared with you watching as our counter leaves you really no choice.
We pomme-frite cut Yukon Gold Potatoes then griddle them with green peppers, onions and fresh herbs. These are our standard hash browns. Take a pile of those, mix in the house-made meat of your choice and top with two or three Eggs, sprinkle some more fresh herbs on top, serve with toast and wa-la, some great hash.
Actually in the great scheme of things, it’s not rocket science, I purposely designed the menu to fit the smallness of the venue. Once we have mise-en-place it’s just a matter of execution which is a challenge in itself with one cook, one griddle and limited space. We have been rocking for quite a while now, we have a great crew, Miriam and Alina run the front and I couldn’t be happier with them but I owe true homage to my main man Rigoberto who works the griddle. He is a magician and when I give him a break and do his job it kicks my butt. Although I do remind him I am 15 years his elder. Line cooking is truly a young man’s job.
What I am most proud of are the customers who tell me, almost every time I am there that they love having us in the neighborhood and that they love our food, atmosphere and coffee. I can’t explain how gratifying this is to me and it almost brings a tear to my eye. And, of course I tell them this means the world to us because we certainly aren’t in it for the money…
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Well, the industry is exploding with new ventures, big money and big ideas. Time rolls on. I see fantastic potential for the real workaholics in cooking with better pay for cooks and a real awareness from the public that just plain wasn’t there when I broke into cooking. What scares me is thought of corporate, mass produced food and people flocking to it because of flashy packaging. I refer to huge cookie cutter mall restaurants and a loss of individuality for true cooks.
I tell my kids please avoid chains, although there a many good ones, there are far more good local spots that need support, many local talents striving to raise above the sea of mediocrity. If we are not careful I fear my grandchildren will grow up surrounded by one giant corporation.
That being said, I hope the next trend is for downsizing of conglomerates in cooking and a push for individuals to shine.
Contact Info:
- Address: 6322 N Central Ave
Chicago, Il 60646 - Website: edgebrookcoffeshop.com
- Phone: 773-657-3974
- Email: burrell663@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Burr6/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/edgebrook-coffee-shop-chicago
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