SOURCE: Marriott
The New San Jose Marriott Chef Incorporates Regional Products Into His Menu at the Restaurant in Downtown San Jose, California
SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – August 20, 2010) – When you are born and raised on a farm that produces a variety of proteins, root vegetables, and fruit, you become accustomed to enjoying food at its very best. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that as a chef, Everton Clarke has been subconsciously imprinted to access the best regional ingredients he can find wherever his job may take him. Currently, he has just taken up residence at the San Jose Marriott restaurant in downtown San Jose as Executive Chef.
Chef Clarke was born in Jamaica and grew up on a family farm where they raised chickens, goats, and pigs as well as a variety of produce including carrots, turnips, yucca, other root vegetables, and plenty of tropical fruit. He watched his mother utilize all of these ingredients on a daily basis in the meals she prepared, and he was not shy to get in there and get his hands in whatever she was cooking.
This early imprinting clearly had an impact on his choice of a career, for when the time came, Chef Clarke decided to go to culinary school and received a Bachelor of Science in Food Service Management from Johnson and Wales University. Since then, he has spent more than 15 years as a chef with Marriott Hotels & Resorts.
And no matter where he cooks in the Marriott Hotels & Resorts restaurant family — Chef Clarke has worked at numerous Marriott properties including the Philadelphia Marriott, Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa (Florida), San Francisco Downtown Marriott, and JW Desert Springs Marriott — he incorporates regionally sourced ingredients that are in season into his menus. Now that he is at the San Jose hotel, he has sourced regionally available Colorado Lamb, Corona Beans, Black Cod from Hawaii, and clams from British Columbia.
Chef Clarke, who is father to two girls who prefer to eat rather than cook right now, does not believe in eating processed foods and cooks at least three to four times a week at home for his family. His preferences? Meats that are closer to the bone like braised oxtail, pot roast, short ribs, liver, tongue — things he can slow cook with potatoes and other root vegetables. And yes, his kids eat it all.
Chef Clarke finds his inspiration for his restaurants from reading cookbooks and watching the Food Network and most other cooking shows. He also sees the trend in science playing a greater role in cuisine with things like micro gastronomy, molecular biology, and sous vide (a cooking process that is intended to maintain the integrity of ingredients by heating them for an extended period at relatively low temperatures using airtight plastic bags placed in hot water well below boiling point; usually around 60°C or 140°F) soon playing a mainstream role in cooking.
For the present time, Chef Clarke has been impressing diners at Arcadia and Tanq at the San Jose Marriott restaurant near San Jose State University with a variety of new dishes including Pan Seared Black Cod with Savory Baynes Clams, Tomato, Fennel, Fingerling Potatoes, and Limoncello Nage; Grilled Colorado Lamb with Corona Bean and Asparagus Cassoulet, Port Macerated Currants, and Mint Oil; Grilled Kurobuta Pork Chops; and a Local Artisan Cheese Selection.
About the San Jose Marriott
The San Jose Marriott, one of the premier hotels near San Jose, CA airport, provides travelers with everything they need for their vacations as well as balance within the face of business. With pillow top mattresses, triple sheeting and comfortable pillows, guests sleep well when they stay at the Marriott. There are also 27 inch flat screen TVs in the guestrooms, along with wired for business high speed internet. When guests venture outside of their rooms, they are close to top San Jose attractions like the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Winchester Mystery House, the HP Pavilion and the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium. For more information about the San Jose Marriott, visit http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjcsj-san-jose-marriott/ or call 1-408-280-1300.
About Arcadia
Arcadia is a modern American steakhouse in downtown San Jose serving classic cuts of beef, fish steaks, and traditional steakhouse side dishes with celebrity Chef Michael Mina’s contemporary twist. The restaurant is located at the Marriott hotel in downtown San Jose, CA at 301 S. Market Street. Some of the restaurant’s signature items include a 20-ounce aged “cowboy” rib-eye; 12-ounce dry-aged New York strip steak; and Pacific yellowfin tuna. Please visit the downtown San Jose, CA hotel’s website at: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjcsj-san-jose-marriott/ for more information.
About Tanq
Tanq is an edgy underwater themed bar/lounge that features ultrachic interiors, skillfully mixed, tie-loosening signature cocktails, and continually changing menu of fresh, seasonal food. Dubbed with amusing wit “Bar Bites” and “Shark Bites,” the tantalizing fare includes small plates for those flying solo and shared plate cuisine made for communal dining. It is located at the Marriott hotel in downtown San Jose, CA at 301 S. Market Street. Please visit the downtown San Jose, CA hotel’s website at: http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/sjcsj-san-jose-marriott/ for more information.
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