Beverly Kim Clark, chef de cuisine at The Fairmont Chicago's Aria restaurant, is raising the bar on an already innovative New World Asian menu. Diners will notice more Korean ingredients from her heritage but may not catch more subtle influences that inspire her creations.
Chef Clark, whose past experience includes work at Takashi and Red Light, says the paintings of local artist Matthew Lew, which grace 60 of the hotel's luxury suites, have helped to inspire some of her cooking. Lew, in turn, gains inspiration from natural and man-made elements of his surroundings and actually incorporated water from Lake Michigan into his acrylics for his varying waterfront views of the Chicago skyline.
"When I look at Matt's paintings, they are colorful, bright and bold; there is a really positive energy that comes out--they are playful and sensual or calm and peaceful," says Clark. "I get inspiration from all artists."
On the colorful and bold side, she recently created a bite-sized vertical composition of crispy pork belly with kimchi puree, black garlic mustard and pineapple, radish and chili relish on a kimchi mung bean pancake topped with a quail egg that was as delicious as it was pretty. Another full-flavored stunner was her hoisin-glazed pulled Denver lamb rib with cumin, fava mint puree and shaved Napa cabbage and fennel slaw.
Clark makes her own kimchi in the restaurant, saying most of her customers know what it is and have acquired a taste for it. She credits her mother for being "an amazing cook and the reason why I'm a chef."
Mom would be proud indeed to see what her daughter is achieving.
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