THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 31, 1995 TAG: 9508290094
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: On the Town
SOURCE: Sam Martinette
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
Jay Zachary wears a number of different hats - or chef's toques - throughout the day.
At different moments Zachary is executive chef of JP's Waterfront in the Dominion Tower, a second-year student at Johnson & Wales University and finally, a teacher, with an apprentice in his kitchen.
How does he juggle all of the activities?
``I take a deep breath and count to 10,'' Zachary said. ``It keeps me on top of things. I don't mind getting there and cleaning things with them. I'm not a dining room chef. I'm learning new things every day myself.''
A shipyard injury led to a midlife career change for Zachary, 39. He had worked in restaurants during the '70s, washing pots and pans as a teenager at the Acey Deucy Club at Oceana, and working in the kitchen of the old Surfrider on the Oceanfront. Two years ago he returned to cooking, and last March he enrolled at Johnson & Wales. Since returning, he has worked for Chef Richard Christie at the now-defunct Positive Vibes and later at the Airport Hilton and Loaves and Fishes by Dails.
Zachary joined the Tidewater Chefs Association, and it was at a meeting that he was handed John Morris' card. Morris was looking for a chef for his waterfront restaurant.
Now the culinary student, with two semesters to go, finds himself boss of a kitchen that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner every weekday.
``Am I nervous?'' Zachary responded. ``No, I'm scared.''
Scared, perhaps, but he's excited as well.
``I love this restaurant, and I love this building,'' he added.
Just as clearly, Zachary loves the challenge.
The building houses roughly 1,200 people every day, and probably twice that number visit it daily, according to Morris, JP's owner.
``Lately, people from City Hall and the financial district are starting to find us,'' Morris said. ``I've been getting a lot of positive comments on Jay's food from regular customers, and we're starting to draw back some old customers we haven't seen in some time.''
``I'll be doing a lot of fusion cooking,'' Zachary said about the new menus he designed, which go into effect today. ``I've learned to cross cultures with food at Johnson & Wales. I also learned to study and research. But I've also learned a lot in the kitchens I've worked in.''
Among the things Zachary learned and will put into use is to count fat grams.
``I've installed a `Lighter Side' section on the lunch and dinner menus,'' he said.
For example, the pineapple-ginger pork tenderloins on the lunch menu cost $6.25 and the dish contains 4.9 fat grams; the scallop and pasta toss is $6.50 and weighs in at 5 fat grams. At the low end is the vegetable-topped flounder ($6.50) with 1.9 fat grams.
Zachary also will spotlight the new Smithfield's Lean Generation pork, with items such as lunch's Caribbean Jerk Pork Loin ($6.50), or the shrimp and pork stir-fry ($6.75). The lunch menu offers sandwiches, subs and burgers, such as a Cajun roast beef and Cheddar cheese sandwich topped with a creamy horseradish sauce ($5.75); a choice cut of prime rib on a kaiser roll ($6.25); a bacon cheeseburger ($5.25); a ``Sailor Sub'' of Boar's Head knockwurst and pastrami topped with baby Swiss and spicy mustard ($4.95); and a vegetarian sub ($4.50).
Soups and salads include a warm grilled chicken and toasted pine nut salad (with broccoli and mushrooms in a honey poppy seed dressing - $6.25); a Caesar ($4.25) and a Greek ($5.25); and a seafood gumbo stew. Appetizers include a nine-layer dip ($4.50) - hot refried beans, Cheddar cheese, green onions, guacamole, olives, diced tomatoes, Jack cheese and fresh cilantro, layered in a tortilla shell and served with corn chips - that could serve as a meal; blackened chicken strips served with a blackberry chutney ($4.95); and shrimp batter-fried in a coconut tempura and served with a pineapple chutney ($5.50).
The breakfast menu will feature a crab meat and cheese omelet, a Grecian omelet, Belgian waffles, and oven-baked Amaretto French toast. Dinner entrees will include a stuffed chicken breast with sun-dried fruit, topped with a port wine sauce ($9.95); grilled teriyaki pork chops with pineapple ($12.95); baked crab cakes ($13.95); and stuffed flounder ($14.95). ILLUSTRATION: Photo by SAM MARTINETTE
In addition to being a student and a teacher, Jay Zachary, left, is
the executive chef at JP's Waterfront, which is owned by John
Morris, right.
Graphic
AT A GLANCE
JP's Waterfront: Dominion Tower, 623-2218.
Food: Regional favorites, American fusion, breakfast foods; full
ABC.
Prices: Lunch $4-$6 range; dinner entrees $9-$14; parking
validation.
Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday; available for
catering and private parties.
by CNB