Friday, July 09, 2010
Chef comes back to Salem after full circle of learning
Chef / owner Scott Switzer plans to open Blue Apron Restaurant & Red Rooster Bar before the end of 2010.
Emily Paine Carter is columnist So Salem. You can contact her at 981-3430 or via e-mail.
Emily Paine Carter
Recent columns from Salem, Glenvar and western Roanoke County
With fresh degrees in hand, the Salem couple "just couldn't get out of town fast enough."
That seems funny now, wrote Scott Switzer. He eagerly awaits the opening of his very own restaurant -- yes, smack-dab in downtown Salem.
Yet leaving town was the right choice back then, Scott reflected via email. He had graduated from New York's famed Culinary Institute of America; wife Ashley Tayloe-Switzer from Virginia Tech.
"You know, young and educated, wanting to get out and see different things...a faster pace and more opportunity. And it was great! We were able to challenge ourselves in competitive environments and acquire skills that may or may not have been available here at the time.
"So it was healthy," he continued, "but when the opportunity arose to head home, we knew that was the right choice as well."
A 1991 Salem High School grad, Scott had worked as a cook and server in a high-volume place in Florida. He returned home and worked at Mac and Bob's, where "the puzzle finally fell together" in his head: "I knew that I was fast and accurate and liked to work very cleanly....[Owners] Bob [Rotanz] and Joe [Dishaw] were gracious enough to write a letter of recommendation for me to the CIA."
After graduating from the CIA (1997), he worked for a few months at Claudia's Blues Cafe while architect Ashley finished her Master's at Tech. Then off to New Jersey to work with famed chef Craig Shelton -- who had trained with some of Europe's finest. This, followed by a head-chef gig in a busy brasserie.
In 2001 the couple moved to Maryland's Eastern Shore, where Scott was executive sous-chef in a five-diamond resort. Later he served as chef-de-cuisine at Mason's in Easton, Md.
After these seven years "on the road" Scott and Ashley came home. Scott moved up as "Metro!" restaurant's executive chef; City magazine named him 2008's top chef. (Coincidence: not only had Scott Switzer worked with Salem peer / CIA alumnus / Mac and Bob's "graduate" Chad Scott at Mason's in Maryland, the two "Scotts" would be star chefs at two Roanoke City Market gourmet restaurants at about the same time. Chad became celebrated at "202.")
Now Scott excitedly awaits development of his and Ashley's downtown Salem property into a "modern, approachable, upscale restaurant" by the end of the year. (She's his partner, but he'll operate the restaurant and manage the building.) He praised her "incredible sense...for extracting the essence from a space in her design" for the 1880 building.
"Blue Apron Restaurant & Red Rooster Bar" -- two storefronts -- will feature many daily specials and locally grown ingredients. And, he wrote, "kids are always welcome (especially if they are learning to eat 'fancy" things)."
Grateful for ALL the experiences "good or bad, fun or not," Scott appreciates every colleague, chef and owner who inspired and mentored him. (He took the time to cite many out-of-state names.)
So -- while planning a place with "delicious food [and] lots of personality" -- in turn he hopes to mentor others who have that passion to become a chef or restaurateur. Just like Bob Rotanz and Joe Dishaw did for him.
