ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, September 6, 1996 TAG: 9609060030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOE KENNEDY STAFF WRITER
GARY NEEDHAM pulled out all the stops for his debut as executive chef at the Hotel Roanoke.
He called it the Star of Roanoke.
It came at the end of the meal, as desserts do, and it spawned oohs and aahs from those gathered at the table.
It was the piece de resistance of Gary Needham's debut at the Hotel Roanoke - a special concoction and a resounding conclusion to the impressive meal he served Thursday for the media and some of the staff at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.
Picture it: orange chocolate mousse rolled in a pistachio spread and tucked between two sugary wafers, topped with a stylized, gold-flaked, star-shaped cookie.
It was big. It was rich.
"I meant it to be overwhelming," Needham, the new chef at the hotel, said.
It was overwhelming.
Needham's boss, general manager Gary Walton, scarfed it up. Other staffers did, too.
Then Bud Goehring took some bites.
It was good, he said.
A bit heavy for his taste, but good.
So spoke a stakeholder. Goehring and his wife, Nancy, were among the 2,000 ordinary people who gave money to Renew Roanoke, the successful campaign to reopen the city's Grand Old Lady. They ponied up $100.
"I said, `Hey, you can't close this thing down,''' said Goehring, of Roanoke County. "This is a landmark."
The newspaper had invited them to the media event so that the voice of the people could be heard. Nancy couldn't make it. Bud, 69, could.
He seemed perfect: A retired U.S. Navy captain and retired division manager and vice president for Bartlett Tree Service, he knew a bit about complicated service businesses.
He was white-haired, energetic and upbeat.
"I'd go back to the Navy tomorrow," he said. "I'd go back to Bartlett, if they'd have me."
While in the Navy, he could have availed himself of meals at some of the most fabulous restaurants in the world. But no.
"Most of the time I was back on ship eating, because I didn't trust the people," he said with a laugh. He knew Navy men whose search for exotic dining experiences resulted in hepatitis.
It never happened to him.
Actually, he said, it would have been better for Nancy to come. She keeps up with fine foods and such, and could speak with some expertise.
"I'm not really known for my palate," he said.
This is what his palate sampled:
For the appetizer, a Stuffed Portobello Sandwich, filled with spinach, roasted red pepper, tuna carpaccio, prosciutto ham and goat cheese.
For the salad, an Asiago Lace Cracker, "poor man's parmesan," Needham said, with tomato fondue and roasted garlic custard with baby lettuces.
For the entree, Roasted Rack of Veal, with port wine, sun-dried tomatoes, whipped potatoes and melted truffle leeks.
And, of course, the dessert.
Chef Needham said he was "sharing the vision."
Bud said, "It was much too heavy for me at noon. For an evening meal, it would have been fine."
Needham wasn't surprised. "I was told [Roanoke's diners] were conservative, and the menu says it's very conservative."
He can live with that. He will, however, experiment a bit as time goes on. His wife, Mini, grew up in India. Needham likes to mix exotic spices into Continental fare.
Needham came to Roanoke from a Doubletree Hotel in Atlanta. In 1994, he was Doubletree's Chef of the Year. He replaces Wayne Knowles and Brian Murtagh, who bought the Charcoal Steak House.
Needham is known for helping charities by offering cooking lessons to everyday people.
In Roanoke, he thinks he might go with a menu divided in two: standard items for those who want them, and other items that change monthly.
He agreed with Goehring. The meal "was a little heavy for lunch, but I was making more of a statement."
Despite his preference for bland food, the stakeholder was impressed: "An awful lot of culinary skill went into it," Goehring said, "and an awful lot of effort."
The quality, he said, was superb.
His investment is safe.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ROGER HART/Staff. Gary Needham, the new executive chefby CNBat the Hotel Roanoke, serves up a sample lunch to Bud Goehring, a
$100 contributor to the Renew Roanoke fund. General manager Gary
Walton (left) presided over the lunch. color.