ref=”https://thinktasty1.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Chef-David-Hill.jpg”>
Looking for an intimate dining experience with amazing cuisine? Look no further than The Chef’s Table in Rocklin, California! Executive Chef David Hill commits to using local, organic ingredients, creating comfort food favorites with the utmost quality and care. Using his classical training to put his own spin on traditional dishes, his menu items inspire excitement and nostalgia alike! His menu changes daily yet always retains its signature items, ensuring that his dishes always excite both new customers and regular diners! A relaxed, familiar atmosphere will help you feel welcomed and cozy as you enjoy some of Chef Hill’s delicious dishes! Stop by The Chef’s Table once, and you’ll be sure to keep coming back for the fantastic food and genuine hospitality alike! I had a chance to speak to Chef David Hill to learn more about him and his restaurant!
RD: What kind of culinary experience helped shape your technique?
CH: I was most influenced by the opportunity to work under French Master Chef Jean Banchet in Atlanta. I firmly believe that knowing the fundamental cooking techniques is critical to be able to then put your own spin on food. Chefs need that foundation to be able to then make their own mark.
RD: What makes Rocklin, CA, an ideal location for your restaurant?
CH: Not only do I live there, but that suburban area of Sacramento needs more restaurants with hand-crafted food versus chain restaurants. It’s a suburb, so it was initially overtaken by nationally branded restaurants, but the area is maturing and restaurants like The Chef’s Table have become hugely popular because of the personal touch with our food and environment of the restaurant.
RD: How would you describe the overall atmosphere in The Chef’s Table?
CH: Much like that of your favorite neighborhood bar & grill or even paying homage to Cheers. We have a tremendous group of regulars and certainly everybody does know our names and we know theirs. That’s the beauty of TCT – it’s an intimate experience in the restaurant but that experience stays with our guests who have become our advocates in the community.
RD: How would you characterize the general vibe of your menu? What are some of your favorite dishes currently being served?
CH: Our most popular dishes are definitely comfort food, but with a good balance of lighter choices – Southern Fried Chicken, Shrimp and Grits, hearty salads featuring local produce and quality cheese, a daily soft taco special with hand crafted meat and the TCT Burger. The TCT Burger comes in many variations and won us the very first Sacramento Burger Battle title and entry into the World Food Championships in Vegas last year. We do change the menu daily, but we always feature a few of the favorites and many small plates so sharing and sampling several dishes is encouraged. It’s all about food we would crave ourselves.
RD: How do emphasizing local product, organics, and farm-specific foods influence your restaurant?
CH: We are heavily committed to shopping local first. We don’t buy any commodity meats. We are most concerned about shopping local vs. organic. A small-farm, locally grown tomato is still going to taste better than an organic one that traveled here from Mexico. We do promote many of the farms we source from; however, a menu can get overwhelming if it’s packed with overly detailed descriptions of the food. We try to find a balance between describing the food in a tantalizing way without overdoing the farm promotion.
RD: The Chef’s Table associates with Slow Food USA, Share our Strength, Chef’s Collaborative, and the American Culinary Federation. Could you explain a little bit about your involvement with these organizations?
CH: We are a member of all of those organizations but aren’t as involved in those as we are with the internship program at the Le Cordon Bleu School in Sacramento and the Sacramento Dining Collective. We are also eager to get more involved in the Sacramento region’s new Farm-to-Fork movement.
(Courtesy photo)
