Culinary Currents
May 2005

Peter’s Culinary Currents: East Meets West
at Dallas’ Four Seasons

By Peter Langlois

As a 10 year-old boy growing up in the beautiful Rhine-Mosel Region of Germany in the small town of Bendorf, Christof Syre knew he was destined to follow his family’s passion for hospitality and foodservice. Even today, his parents manage the family’s Weinhaus Syre, now 130 years old but still maintained under the same family heritage.

Not unlike many other Europeans, Christof left home at the age of fifteen to pursue a dream that has taken him from Germany to England to Australia to Hong Kong and now to Dallas. Along the way, he developed his culinary skills at a Michelin 2 Star (The Dorchester in London) and crafted a unique style while being Executive Sous Chef to Executive Chef Jurg Blaser at the world renowned Regent Hotel of Hong Kong. For the last ten years, Chef Christof has worked for the Four Seasons, the last four years in Dallas.

Interviewing chefs is always a learning experience for me, and I always question what unique food styling a chef brings to the table. “When I arrived in Dallas, the Hotel was renovating its main restaurant, converting it into an Asian theme. This presented the ultimate opportunity to display the talent I had acquired through years of working in Asia,” Chef Christof told me.

While until recently Asian meant Chinese, Chef Christof combines the Cuisines of Thailand, Japan, and The Philippines with Chinese and New American in his personal style. Focused on Fish and eating light, Christof concentrates on what he calls “clear lines of flavors.” “I find fusion too often leads to confusion when chefs or cooks combine spices that promote disharmony. This can leave one out of balance flavor-wise. I guard against this clash of flavors. To me, harmony and clean tastes make for greater culinary enjoyment.”

“Currently we are featuring a grouper dish with wasabi mashed potatoes. It’s critical to keep the fish stock light to enhance the dish. While at first our guests were perhaps surprised at out light flavor profiles, we feel we are right on trend for the current market, which is more concerned with eating light and nutritious fare. Of course we’re in Dallas, so I also feature steaks and hearty fare as well”

I asked Chef about the art of plate presentation and any trends that he felt were different from the most recent ones of virtually building height with layers of food, creating haystacks that a guest might feel disinclined to topple. “There is a big change here,” he said. “Particularly with my Asian dishes, presentation is key, and I am moving in a different direction. I serve many dishes on platters but rather than stack or allow different flavors to meld with one another, I choose black or white containers for each colorful dish. Each is then like a small gift to be opened and discovered. I feel this creates more mystery and excitement. Our guests respond to the colorful Asian palate of these culinary treats inside each ceramic container.”

While not on the job, Chef Christof enjoys tennis and riding with fellow Four Seasons executives and employees in bicycle events to raise money for charities. While in Hong Kong, Chef met his wife, who was working at the Grand Hyatt across The Bay from The Regent Hotel. They have two boys, one 8 years old and another 7 months old. To maintain family bonds, the Syres alternate annual vacations between Europe and Asia.

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Peter Langlois is founder of www.RestaurantU.com: Tools of the Trade for Business, for School, for Free!,co-editor of Weekly Restaurant Connections (e-Newsletter), Culinary Instructor, The Art Institute of Houston-Culinary, and Management, Marketing and e-business Facilitator at The University of Phoenix (Houston).  Langlois is also a Malcolm Baldrige 2005 Ambassador. He has a Political Science degree from Michigan State University (Modern International Chinese Relations) and an M.B.A from the University of Houston (Marketing and Business Strategies).  If you enjoyed this feature, you’ll probably enjoy his free newsletter available on www.RestaurantU.com.

 Contact information: 832.860.5595 or peter@restaurantu.com