What’s it like to be a…Chef
Please tell our readers a little bit about yourself
My name is Nicholas Calias, CEC, CCA. I am the Corporate Executive Chef and Director of Food and Beverage for The Colonnade Hotel & Brasserie JO. I have been running the kitchen for more than 20 years;
I was named Boston ACF Chapter Chef of the Year in 2013. I run world-renowned Chef Jean JOHO’s traditional French Brasserie.I started cooking at age 11 in my parent’s restaurant. I went to Newbury College in Brookline, Mass., for Culinary Arts.
I took my first executive chef role at age 21 at The Beach House restaurant, a fine dining restaurant in Hampton, N.H. I then became the Executive Chef at The Sheraton Ferncroft in Danvers, Mass., and then went to work for HEI Hotels, traveling around the country helping at a number of hotels as a task force executive chef.
I have been at the Colonnade for more than eight years. I have a beautiful wife and three amazing children (that love to cook).
What does it take to be a chef?
Passion, passion, passion! Being a chef is great; you get to be creative, intense, motivated, patient, etc. But you have to love to cook, not like to cook. Being a chef is all I have ever dreamed of since I was 11 — my 8th grade yearbook, under future occupation, was to be a chef.
What are some of the challenges that come with being a chef?
Challenges, well there are always some. First, knowing when enough is enough. Chefs like to keep pushing and pushing it, and simple is sometimes better. Being a chef means working a lot; it’s tough on families and relationships. You have to be in 150 percent as a chef. Knowing how to manage everything is a challenge. Finding the right staff to support you is always a challenge as well. Chefs like to think everyone is like us — that’s where the patience comes in, working with staff and making them better. There is no greater feeling than seeing one of your team members moving up and becoming a chef.
What do you love most about your job?
I love everything about my job — the interaction with staff and guests, the creative part of menus and cooking, but the one thing I love is the busy time of the night. When things are happening and everyone is moving like a well-oiled machine and dinners are just flying out — that type of adrenaline is awesome.
When/how did you know you wanted to be a chef?
When I was 11, my parents decided to buy a restaurant in New Hampshire. I was given the choice either to wash dishes or cook — I chose to cook. By the time I was 12, even before I could throw a curve ball, I could tell you what a medium rare or rare steak feels like. I could run my father’s entire 120-seat restaurant by the time I was 14. There was no turning back after that; I was hooked.
Why did you choose to specialize in French cuisine over a different kind of cooking?
Truly, in school, that’s where it begins. Everything comes from French cuisine: our techniques, sauces, etc. Being at the Colonnade makes it easy, with a 200-seat French restaurant; it allows us to really dig deep into our French cuisine.
What are some things that are special/different about French cooking and French cuisine?
To us, French cuisine is all of our training; it’s where our love and passion started and continues to grow. The great thing about the French cuisine is that we can recreate and reintroduce items over and over with new twist to create something new and different.
What is a typical day like for you?
A typical day begins at about 9 a.m. with a walk through of all the walk-ins and greeting the staff. I then meet with the sous chefs and executive sous chef to review daily business and reservations. Next, I meet with my banquet chef to go over the day’s events. I then meet with the front of the house staff to see what they are doing and to check their business levels. The day typically will consist of my banquet chef and me playing with new dishes or the restaurant chefs showing me new specials. Then dinner service starts and it’s all expedited then. We run a no-slip system, which means we call the food to the cooks, and they cook. This help the cooks stay on track and keep concentration.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to be a chef?
Love to cook, feel it in your bones, read and read more. Never settle and always strive for perfection. When you think you have nailed it, then move on to the next or take it apart and do it over.
What inspires you?
My first inspiration was my dad; he taught me the basics and a sense of urgency. Now food inspires me; to look at a product and visualize what I can do with it is great. I want every person that leaves my restaurant to be blown away.
What is your favorite thing to do when you are not working?
I love being with my family, cooking at home with my kids or cooking for friends.
What is your favorite thing to prepare? To eat?
Lamb, hands down. It must come from my Greek background. A simple rack that has been seasoned with thyme and rosemary, roasted with lemon — so good!
Can you tell our readers something cool about being a chef that most people don’t know?
We really don’t yell and throw things; we are compassionate people that just strive for everyone to be their best. It’s not what you see on TV. It’s a hard, competitive field, and if you are not trying to be the best, some one else is.
Thank you so much — your job sounds amazing!