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.”
