A Labor of Love

Date: July 8, 2008

EATS!
Your guide to the local food scene

A labor of love

Nage chef Kevin Reading maintains his ‘chill’ and draws on past experiences

By Alexandra Greeley
Special to The Examiner

  At first handshake, as you size up Kevin Reading, you may decide he is just a laid-back, cool-looking lawyerly type — casual, cheerful and on his way to court. Nope. Kevin Reading is executive chef and owner of two beachy-style restaurants with the Frenchified name Nage, or “swim.”
  So successful has been his first Rehoboth Beach location that Reading took up the offer to branch out to D.C., where, after a tentative beginning, the second Nage has developed a loyal following.
  The draw: Reading’s quirky and often unexpected culinary twists. You may find such tempting items as a sweet potato soup perked up with candied pecans and cocoa oil, Reading’s version of a bouillabaisse, rich with seafood and flavor, a killer lobster pie and an Angus burger accompanied by curly hot frites doused in truffle oil.
  A native of Detroit, Reading describes his early exposure to cooking as his mother’s efforts to create mealtimes as events and to teach him to think outside of the norm, “like sardines with horseradish sauce, or sausage with jelly.” But his first restaurant experiences did not focus on cooking. Instead, as a teen, Reading worked for a boss who had him doing all the dirty work.
  “That was a gift. I have gone through the restaurant and learned everyone’s job,” he says.
  Eventually, as a waiter in a Florida restaurant, Reading found himself doing tableside cooking of sorts, when he was carving meats and tossing Caesar salads. That was a defining time for Reading — he moved on to enroll in the Philadelphia Restaurant School, and after graduation, took his culinary training very seriously by sharpening his skills and eventually opening his own restaurant, The Fox Point Grill, in Wilmington, Del.
  After six successful years, winning awards and stars for his venture, Reading moved on to Rehoboth Beach, opening first Espuma, and later, the very informal Nage, where people rejoiced about the atmosphere and the funky food — Reading’s straightforward cooking from scratch, but with a twist.
  “It has been a labor of love,” he says. “The people around me get it. The food and cooking are all about passion.”
  Now at the culinary high point, Reading reflects on his climb from dishwashing flunky to executive chef/restaurant owner. It’s all been very hard work and long hours, he says, and maybe that explains why Reading describes himself as the “anti-chef chef, a ‘chill’ person” who believes in kitchen democracy and has banished a pecking order among his staff.
  Reading’s affability is his other trademark: “I just don’t take anything too seriously,” he says. “It’s no good to lose your temper in any situation.”

IN KEVIN’S OWN WORDS

Which recipe are you the proudest of?
More so than the recipe, I use products from within — that is, I look at the number of products left in the walk-in, and use them. … I am proud of the Nage burgers made from trimmed-out prime rib.
What is your cooking philosophy?
I bring in fresh and innovative ingredients. If I don’t know about it, I want it. I am continuously educating myself, using local and fresh. I am entrenched in and respecting of traditions first, then I care about the style.
Do you cook at home?
Not so often. As much as I work, I don’t stock up on products, so I don’t have everything.
What is your comfort food?
Simple, simple things. Pasta, and I gravitate toward Italian cooking. Or my mom’s Spanish rice. She threw everything together.
Which are your favorite restaurants?
Vidalia, Kincaid’s, and I want to go to Restaurant Eve, Bar Pilar, Mio, Matchbox, Michel Richard Citronelle and PS 7’s.
What is your inspiration?
When I first started, I was a voracious reader. Lately, I just go with the product.
What is your cooking tip?
Use vinegar. Think about taste sensation and think about balance. What’s missing is usually acid. A touch will change the flavor. And get your mise en place together before you start cooking.

VANILLA SALT-SEARED SCALLOPS

Save the leftovers of the vanilla salt, mustard seed toffee and arugula aioli for another use, or double the scallops recipe itself.

Serves 1

Arugula Pesto
1 Tbsp. roasted garlic
5 egg yolks
2 cups blended oil
1 cup white wine
1 tsp. dried mustard
1 tsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 cup blanched arugula
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Blend together yolks and a little bit of the oil. With the blender still going, add salt and more oil to emulsify.
Add the white wine, mustard and Tabasco as you add the rest of the oil. (If the mixture is too thick you can add some water.)
Finally add the arugula, white balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper.

Vanilla Salt
Two vanilla pods dried in the microwave or slowly in the oven. Pulse in the food processor with salt.

Mustard Seed Toffee
Mix 1 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup of water in a small saucepan. Heat on high flame until sugar begins to caramelize, then add 1 cup of mustard seeds and toast the mixture for one minute in the pan.
Add 1 tablespoon of dry mustard and the juice of one lemon and continue to heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and slowly incorporate 1/4 pound of butter and finish with salt to taste.

Vanilla Seared Scallops
3 large (size 10) sea scallops
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. butter
Microgreens for garnish
Season the scallops with the vanilla salt, and add about 1 tablespoon oil to a skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat, sear the scallops on both sides until golden brown, but still medium rare; finish by adding about 1 tablespoon butter to the skillet.
Remove and reserve in a warm place.
Ladle some of the arugula aioli on the center of a plate.
Arrange the scallops on the aioli and top with the mustard seed toffee.
Garnish with microgreens.