Fearless

When it comes to a commitment to great food, it would be hard to surpass Nick Pajor, head research and development chef for King & Prince Seafood Corporation, a long-time corporate sponsor for A Taste of Glynn. Chef Pajor is generous with his time, ideas and enthusiasm, and recipes. His easy-enough-for-anybody recipes for pink lemonade margaritas and dangerously delicious hazelnut chocolate chip cookies can be found in the attractive A Taste of Glynn Cookbook.

            Nick Pajor’s day-to-day job requirements would make most of us, even the most passionate foodie, fall down in a dead faint. Starting with a basic seafood product, he creates a new dish with a unique flavor, application and recipe that sets what he calls “the gold standard,” or ultimate finished result. Think “best meal I ever ate in a high-end restaurant” type of standard.

            The next step is to work with a team of other expert chefs and food scientists at King & Prince Seafood to devise ways to process the items to reach this standard consistently in large quantity. We’re not talking about remembering to add the same amount of sage to Great-aunt Maude’s famous Thanksgiving turkey stuffing each year. We’re talking about creating a new seafood product that a commercial chef can prepare flawlessly in quantities of 500 plates or more for a convention center banquet. As if that wasn’t daunting enough, Nick and his colleagues must also be able to assure that same gold-standard quality and taste for 200,000 to 300,000 servings at a time in a manufacturing setting. Every one of those hundreds of thousands of servings of tasty seafood must carry the entire brand’s reputation on its own.

            No pressure, right?

            By this point, most of us would have fled the building, but Chef Pajor loves what he does. In addition to working out the technical details to support the creativity, he and his colleagues at King & Prince Seafood read and travel extensively, researching regional flavors, gathering ideas and inspiration. What is the next trend in food? What flavors will catch on like wildfire? His job, he admits, is a large serving of art, a good deal of science, a healthy measure of marketing smarts and a little touch of crystal ball-reading.

            “We look at everything when we travel, “ he explained. “What is served in local restaurants? What do food-truck operators serve? These are great sources of ideas, because they are authentic regional foods.  This is the way people really eat, and it’s exciting to see a modern infusion of different styles. A mixture of cultures makes for great food.”

            What advice can Chef Pajor offer to at-home cooks who are hesitant to venture into preparing seafood? “Don’t overcook it! Always use a thermometer and bring the fish to 135 degrees, then take it away from the heat. Let it rest five minutes–it will finish off of the grill or out of the oven. It gets too done if you leave it longer, and it loses a lot of flavor. In fact, that goes for all food.  If you cook it to the proper degree of doneness, you get better color and flavor.”

            “Just remember, “ he added with a grin, ”it’s already dead. No need to kill it again!”

            Another common mistake home chefs make is using the wrong application for cooking seafood. “People often grill when they should bake, or bake when they should sear,” Chef Pajor explained. “Look around on the internet for recipes. It’s a great source for new ideas and proper technique.”

            “If you are just starting out, try preparing salmon,” he suggested. “It lends itself to a multitude of flavors. Some people use cedar planks when preparing fish, but you might want to try wrapping the fish in cedar paper instead. That’s a really nice, easy meal. You can buy the paper in local grocery stores.”

            What’s Chef Pajor’s favorite dinner? He thought he might leave the seafood at work and indulge in a perfectly charcoal-grilled hamburger. No, cheeseburger. But not just any cheese- maytag blue cheese, topped with applewood smoked bacon and a slice of fresh tomato. With a helping of very traditional potato salad topped off with fresh dill or chives. Followed with an ice-cold beer.

            And how about is favorite celebrity chef? Nick Pajor likes Rick Bayliss. “I like what he’s done with the regionality of Mexican food.”

            For his final bit of advice, Chef Pajor encourages the rest of us.  “Be fearless. Cook what you like, and don’t pay attention to what you think other people expect. Simple flavors make the best meals.”