From Vox Magazine: A Conversation with Brook Harlan
- Candice Brew
- Oct 9, 2014
- 3 min read
Photo by Lauren Kastner
Published in 10/9 print issue of Vox magazine and published on voxmagazine.com
Brook Harlan might be recognizable from his appearance as a contestant on the first season of cooking competition Food Network Star. But the Columbia native is known for being a top-notch culinary mentor to his students.
The chef and teacher, who attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., shapes high-school students into competitive chefs. At the Columbia Area Career Centerand satellite kitchens at each Columbia public high school, Harlan leads curious students through food preparation techniques, contests and cookouts.
Chormaic Sullivan, one of Harlan’s former students, won the 2014 SkillsUSA National Contest for Culinary Arts and went on to follow in the footsteps of his mentor at the Culinary Institute. He says Harlan set high standards.
“I got to work with him really closely,” Sullivan says. “He’s shown me how to manage my time and make sure everything’s done right the first time — not only in the kitchen, but for homework.”
As the food editor for Inside Columbia, Harlan has written about 100 stories serving as the magazine’s go-to guide on good grub. But even when his chef hat and apron come off, the food connoisseur is at ease as he talks kitchen.
How did you begin cooking?
I started cooking with my dad when I was a kid. He’s a lawyer by profession, but he really liked to cook. He was a politician for eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives, so we’d cook for fundraisers, and I just kind of grew up doing that. I started working at restaurants when I was in high school.
What were your childhood tastes?
I remember I didn’t like mushrooms, but I love mushrooms now. I always loved steak. I remember also being in high school and being interested in making crème brûlée, but I think half of that was using a blowtorch.
You and your wife are expecting a daughter. Do you plan on cooking with her as she grows up?
I’d love to cook with my daughter. I think it’s something that everybody should learn how to do: being able to cook for yourself, cook for your loved ones. So many kids these days grow up and don’t know where food comes from. They’re used to the final product. They don’t see it raw. I think now, more than before, people seem to be growing their own food, and they’re involved in the entire process. The Career Center grows quite a few herbs right outside their back door, and we’re trying to incorporate that into the design and having some different herbs and vegetables grow close by, taking trips to the farmer’s market, meeting the people who actually grow the food.
During your studies, you interned at the nationally recognized Commander’s Palace restaurant in New Orleans. How was that prestigious opportunity?
It was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I was 20 years old, living in New Orleans on my own and working anywhere from nine to 14 hours a day. It was my first big taste of the real world. I would have nightmares about food. I would just wake up in my bed and think, “I have more food to put out.”
What are your favorite restaurants in town?
Mike Odette has Sycamore downtown and Craig Cyr has the Wine Cellar. 44 Stone has been doing a phenomenal job with great food and great beer as well. It seems like our choices are getting larger and larger with the amount of places we can go that will put food first and where everyone is thinking quality.
What’s the best part about teaching high-school students?
The best part is the worst part. You’re getting new students every three years. You get to have a moment with them where they realize that’s what they really enjoy doing. A lot of them go on and do it as careers. That’s also a hard part because you have a lot of students you would love to stay in high school forever, but that’s not going to happen. But it’s great to see them leave and succeed and have a great head start on their career.
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