In 2019, the old Food ‘n Flix crew watched Spinning Plates—a documentary about a struggling Mexican restaurant in Arizona, a family run buffet institution in Iowa, and a Michelin star-rated restaurant in Chicago. Alinea, the 3-star rated ultra fine dining restaurant manned by Chef Grant Achatz is the star of the documentary. I was just gobsmacked by his artistry and his attention to detail and his drive. (Spinning Plates is a great film and if you haven’t seen it, you should.)

Segue to the new chef memoir Fireproof by Curtis Duffy (with Jeremy Wagner). How is this a segue? Chef Duffy did a stint at Alinea under Chef Grant and ran with the creativity, artistry and drive to receive his stars and accolades at Avenue, Grace, and Ever. Fireproof details his journey.

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Camilla of Culinary Cam secured advanced copies of Fireproof for members of Lit Happens, a FB based book club. For Grace, the documentary about Chef Duffy’s first restaurant, is the August film for Movies & Munchies. Amy’s Cooking Adventures is hosting. This post is doing double duty for both events.

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About the book:

I have a soft spot in my heart for first generation college students and children that come from less than supportive homes. I have basically built my career on this love. Duffy is first gen, comes from an impoverished background and definitely a less than supportive home. His childhood was both physically and verbally abusive. His father suffered from mental illness, his biological mother gae him away in infancy, and his stepmom tried to be supportive but saw tough love as the answer. It is a wonder that Duffy made it at all. He did have the support of some rock star teachers and mentors along the way. These supportive adults were vital to him as he struggled with overcoming generational trauma. When he was in his late teens, his father murdered the only mother-figure Duffy knew and then committed suicide.

Duffy continually struggles with this trauma but leaves Ohio to intern with the likes of Charlie Trotter and the aforementioned Achatz. It is Achatz that I think Duffy most resembles even though he carved out his own culinary path in the brutal restaurant world of Chicago.

I really don’t know where to begin with Duffy’s life. He triumphs over a harsh childhood and family trauma to open his dream restaurant, Grace. He achieves greatness there but has truly made a deal with the devil by partnering with an unscrupulousness financier. His dream restaurant dies a sudden death when his manager and friend is fired and lawsuits are brought against them both. He sits out of the industry because of a no-compete clause and finally opens another dream restaurant, Ever. During COVID, he opened Rêve Burgers for takeout to keep his staff employed. Later he opened After (but I am not sure he is still associated with that establishment).

Duffy speaks highly of his chef mentors like Charlie Trotter even though their parting was less than amicable. He goes on for a paragraph or two on Trotter’s genius with vegetables. He also outlines Trotter’s credo of fine dining. He truly respects Chef Achatz and gives him lots of credit and praise.

I loved Duffy’s meeting with Anthony Bourdain where they basically bonded over the love of cheese.

The first part of Fireproof was just tragic and heart wrenching. Equally tragic was the partnership at Grace with what can only be described as the devil-man (the fat cat who financed it). But, around chapter forty, I felt like the way was lost. The chapters didn’t flow and at one point Duffy just recaps a chronological list of the events that led to the success of Ever. He then goes back to revisit the trauma of his childhood but that too almost reads like a recap.

I am glad I read this book and it was intriguing to see Duffy’s drive for excellence, in himself, his restaurants and his employees.

About the film:

Duffy mentions the filming of For Grace just a couple of times in his memoir. He states the film “only glossed over the surface of my life story” (155) and later in the book he mentions that he received no proceeds and didn’t even get a copy of the movie from the film maker. (The film was not a slick production and was a bit disjointed at times. It also looked a bit like they shot it was a phone cam. It definitely wasn’t as good as Spinning Plates.)

The 2016 film follows Duffy and his business partner, Micheal Muser, through the process of opening Grace. (The devil-man backer is not mentioned or seen.) Every detail is seen to from staff uniforms and training to $1000 dining chairs. I felt like there was less emphasis on menu development. I also felt like the movie was structured a bit odd. There were interviews with Trisha (Duffy’s sister) about the family tragedy and trauma and there were interviews with Achatz. I really didn’t learn a lot about what makes Duffy tick.

I enjoyed the book much more than the film but I always love peeking behind the scenes in the fine dining world.

What to make?

While I feel like I’m creative in the kitchen and that I aspire to be artistic, I could not even hope to achieve anything near what Duffy creates. His dishes are out of my reach totally. I searched the internet for “Duffy recipes” and while I did find more than a few variations on his Alaskan Crab Salad, I wanted something obtainable for me. (Notice I did a burger when I had to be inspired by Achatz’ cuisine for my Spinning Plates post.) I finally found a recipe that he had presented on a Chicago morning show: Triple Seared Beef Ribeye with Lettuce Marmalade, Black Quinoa & Nasturtium. We grilled our steak but I did make a lettuce marmalade (mostly according to his directions) and revamped the quinoa side into more of a salad.

Tri-Colored Quinoa Salad with Red Wine and Cranberries

Based on a recipe from Chef Duffy for Triple Seared Beef Ribeye with Lettuce Marmalade, Black Quinoa & Nasturtium 

Ingredients

• 1 c. tri-colored quinoa
• 2 c. water
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 c. red wine
• 1/4 c. red wine vinegar
• 1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 T. agave syrup (or honey)
• 1/2 c. dried sliced cranberries
• 1-2 T. fennel fronds, chopped
• 1 T. chives, chopped

Instructions

1. Rinse the quinoa. In a small saucepan, bring 2 c. water to a boil. Add a pinch of salt and the quinoa, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
2. While quinoa cooks, make the red wine vinaigrette. Place the red wine, red wine vinegar, olive oil and agave syrup in a blender and mix until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper.
3. When quinoa is done, place it in a serving bowl. Add the cranberries and toss with the vinaigrette while the quinoa is still warm. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to serve. 
4. Before serving, garnish with the fennel fronds and the chives.

Duffy’s vinaigrette uses Madeira wine only. I used what I had on hand, just a red blend, and added red wine vinegar and some sweetener to the dressing. I also served this at room temperature and have enjoyed the leftovers cold from the fridge. (I’m not sure how Duffy intended it to be served. The recipe was totally written like a chef, read minimal instructions.)

I was glad that both of these recipes, the above salad and the lettuce marmalade, featured fennel as Duffy says it is one of his favorite ingredients. (If your interest is piqued, the lettuce marmalade calls for romaine ribs, fennel, garlic, sugar, vinegar, and water and then is simmered until a marmalade consistency is achieved.)

I liked the quinoa salad quite a bit. I halved the lettuce marmalade and the only change I made was to use tarragon vinegar. Like I said, we didn’t follow the recipe for the steak (which Duffy vacuum infuses, sous vides and then “triple”sears). I also served a green salad since I had all the romaine leaves leftover from the marmalade recipe.

I never achieved a marmalade consistency with the lettuce concoction, but it was an interesting topping for the steaks, adding a sweet and sour element.

Thank you, Camilla, for the opportunity to read Fireproof. Thank you, Amy, for hosting Movies & Munchies this month with For Grace.

I’ll leave today with a quote that is dear to Duffy:

Grace is the beauty of form, under the influence of freedom. –Friedrich Shiller

(Inspiration for the name of Duffy’s first restaurant and the tattoo on his forearm)

I’m linking up with Foodies Read.