At Home with Charlie Trotter

TCW's November 2007 Man of the Month with Chef Charlie Trotter

Walk through the high-ceilinged entry room of Chef Charlie Trotter’s Lincoln Park home, pad stocking-footed – everyone must remove their shoes in this house – through the Tiffany-box colored dining room, and next you’ll enter his kitchen, the crown jewel of the three-story house he moved into five months ago. Here, a brass-tiled backsplash shimmers against a dark marble countertop and stainless steel glimmers from the multiple sinks, stoves and enormous refrigerator.

Tall stools stand against the island and chairs are pushed around the table, covered in books, inviting guests to visit with Chef Trotter as he works his culinary magic. On the second of three decks, there’s a fire-burning brick pizza oven. In the kitchen and outdoors, he prepares meals not only for his teenage son and family, but also for the large groups he hosts for various charitable causes close to his heart.

And while in his self-named Lincoln Park restaurant, Charlie Trotter's (which just celebrated its 20th anniversary), he’s known for his control and precision, he masters a different technique in his home. “My cooking style at home is very spontaneous,” he says. “Let me paraphrase Bruce Lee, and say: ‘My style, you could call it the art of cooking without cooking.’”

Chef Trotter, of course, hardly needs a prolonged introduction; anyone who’s ever taken a bite in the city of Chicago knows of his world-class status, numerous awards, avant garde culinary style and, yes, tales of his perfectionist approach to his craft. While his restaurant accepts reservations as much as four months in advance, he opened up his house and kitchen to TCW to give us a glimpse of this infamous chef at home.

My first cooking attempt was when I was about 12 years old. My mom got me this cookbook with recipes taken from different literary works. I made something called Mad Hatter Meatballs that was right out of Alice in Wonderland. For about a year, that was my signature recipe.

My biggest cooking disaster was when we’d been open maybe a year, and we worked so hard to make this perfect lobster consommé. I dumped it right into a pot of frying oil, and of course the thing was immediately ruined.

If I could only make one dish for the rest of my life, it would have to be liver sausage sandwich on whole wheat bread with pickles and mustard.

My most treasured possession in my home kitchen is my Turkish coffee pot.

My family loves to eat meatloaf. And I actually like meatloaf, so I can’t say I don’t like to cook it. I may run a high-end restaurant, but I also like comfort foods.

The biggest mistake I’ve made? You got seven or eight hours? I don’t look at mistakes as mistakes. Success teaches you absolutely nothing and mistakes teach you absolutely everything. They talk about gamblers who live off the thrill of losing more than the glory of winning. I can understand that. I’m more interested in my shortcomings, because they’re more interesting than any success we might have had.

I most value in my employees exuberance. I have no interest in [my] chefs coming up with new and original creations. There’s got to be a coherent, single perspective. Miles Davis might let Charlie Parker or John Coltrane pick up on a melody, but he’s still going to control the flow, tone and everything else.

We’re emphatic about making a difference from a social standpoint, a cultural standpoint, and an aesthetic standpoint. About 14 years ago, we petitioned the city over and over to plant some trees. And they said, ‘Well, trees are slated to be in your neighborhood in about three years.’ So I had to take the law into my own hands and literally, middle of the night, jackhammer on the sidewalk, planted these beautiful pear trees deep into the ground.

My day works in two different ways. I used to be in the kitchen from 6am to 2am, six or seven days a week. This is why I’ve been married like, seven times! No, I haven’t, but this is not a business that’s kind on relationships. But in the last five or six years, I have the daytime day, which is the day to day business; and the other is the nighttime day, which is the restaurant, in the kitchen, with the guests and the outside philanthropic things we do.

I don’t have a career, and I don’t say that smugly. I’ve never had a resume in my life. I’ve never had a ‘job,’ not since I delivered papers for the Chicago Tribune.

The best thing I’ve ever done is stay very true to the ideals on which this place was founded; I’ve never deviated. I’ve evolved as a culinary person and as a person in general, but still feel almost the same as when I was 8 years old. Certainly there are people who like to make snotty comments, but fortunately for me, I’m a little thick in the head.

I think the reason they celebrated Charlie Trotter Day was they thought we were closing. And they got together and thought, ‘This is the perfect way to celebrate, because they’re finally moving on!’

I’m sure I’ve produced dishes that, if you measured out the amount of white truffles, literally would be worth over $1,000.

Twenty years ago, I didn’t even know if we’d make it through the first year. I was ecstatic when we celebrated our first anniversary.

I’ll stop cooking when I find something more interesting to do.

Wondering what's in Charlie Trotter's home kitchen? Click through the gallery below for a few of his favorite items.

Tagged as: Charlie Trotter and restaurants and chefs