Chef's recipe for living

When failure is considered a gift, you can't even think about giving up.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
OW MANY OF YOU ASPIRING CHEFS OUT there have heard of Swamp Cabbage and Alligator Soup? And if you've heard of it, did you know it was the official state soup of Florida?
This prize-winning dish was created by chef Victor Detec, former owner of the highly rated "Victor's Backstreet Cuisine" in New Smyrna Beach, Fla., and now he is right here, living in our midst.
Detec was born and raised on Youngstown's East Side. After serving his duty in Viet Nam, from 1966-69, then spending a number of years undecided as to the direction he wanted to go, meanwhile traveling the country and the world in search of his life purpose, he knew he needed to settle down. So, on a whim, in 1984, he packed a duffle bag, with $20 in his pocket, and moved to Florida.
"I knew I needed a change," said Detec. "When I got to Florida, I thought I'd like to be a chef, even though I had never really cooked, so I walked into a Holiday Inn in Melbourne Beach and convinced the chef I could cook. He asked me to make a Hollandaise sauce, which was the only thing I could make really good from scratch, so I got hired. In six months, I became the sous chef. Three months later, I became executive chef, and have been one ever since."
Even though Detec has a lot to brag about, he chooses to be humble, and feels that God was helping him out that day at the Holiday Inn. The trauma he experienced in Viet Nam has shaped his life and choices, and he says he made a conscious decision to live a life of love and generosity, and that has become his trademark.
Others matter
He says his life philosophy revolves around helping people and influencing other to greatness. "It makes a difference how you perceive others," he said. "If you judge, you may never have the opportunity to meet the person who will become your best friend."
Detec is temporarily living with his sister, Mary Ann Lemke, of Austintown, and plans to create another restaurant locally. Having suffered through one too many hurricanes in Florida, with Hurricane Frances destroying his business, Detec decided to give it up and return to the area after a 35-year absence. But he has lots of wonderful memories from his years down south.
Although Detec has enough awards, medals, and certificates earned for his cuisine, he stresses that none of that is important.
"Cooking is a total expression of love," he explains. "My restaurants fed over 28,000 less fortunate people. And I always hired kids to work there who were floundering. I would give them incentives to stay in school or go on to college. For each class they completed with a passing grade, I would give them a dollar raise. And it didn't have to be classes related to cooking.
"One of my former employees just got her M.D. I had others who went on to get their high school diplomas, and some who have become known as accomplished chefs. My attitude has always been that quitting is not part of living, and failure is a gift."
Anger management
Detec also taught a course at Daytona Beach Community College for four years, an advanced culinary class, and says he didn't focus on cooking as much as the aspects of being a good manager.
"I taught people how to control their anger," he said. "And I also stressed that it is up to the chef to make sure that everyone is following proper sanitation regulations. The chef's main job is to guarantee that the food served is healthful and safe, and that no one gets sick."
Detec opened Victor's Backstreet Cuisine 13 years ago, and it soon became one of the highest rated restaurants on the east coast of Florida, up against such greats as the Disney restaurants. It had a rating of 27 in the Zagat Survey. "The highest rating possible is 30," Detec said. "No one got that rating, but there were some at 29."
Detec's restaurant was small, only eight tables, and diners wore ties to jeans. His cuisine was a little bit of everything: steak, seafood, chili (for which he won an award), Asian, and especially barbecue. He was known as someone who came out to greet his guests personally, and developed friendships with his customers. Many included well-known personalities, such as actor Bob Denver, various sports stars, and other people in unique positions.
His awards include state championships for beef, seafood, and even ice sculptures. He won a national competition with Contadina for his lasagna and was inducted into the Chaine Rotisseurs, which gave him an opportunity to meet world renowned chef, Paul Bocuse. The contest for state soup took place over a three-year period, and Detec competed against thousands of other entries.
FLORIDA SWAMP CABBAGE AND ALLIGATOR SOUP
Though it sounds exotic, swamp cabbage is another name for hearts of palm, which can be purchased in a grocery store in a can. If you don't happen to have fresh alligator in the fridge, you can substitute chicken or pork. The recipes makes one-half gallon:
1/2 tablespoon each salt and pepper
2 tablespoons each Italian seasoning and blackened seasoning
1 pound alligator meat (or raw chicken or pork) cut in half-inch cubes (2 cups)
1/4 cup each flour and olive oil
2 medium sweet white onions, julienne sliced
1/2 medium red onion, julienne sliced
3 ounces Sambuca liqueur (or small sachet of anise seed to remove when seasoned to taste)
1 each medium red and yellow tomato, blanched, peeled, diced, with 2 tablespoons each reserved for garnish
5 scallions, sliced in one-fourth inch pieces, 2 tablespoons reserved for garnish
1 can hearts of palm (swamp cabbage) drained, rinsed, and sliced in 1/2-inch rounds
21/2 quarts stock (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
3 ounces "Datil" pepper sauce, or to taste
Additional hot sauce to taste
1/2 bunch chicory (endive), cut in 1-inch diagonal slices
Combine first four ingredients in bowl and add meat. Dust with flour.
Heat soup pot or Dutch oven to medium hot and add olive oil, then meat, stirring until meat is reddish brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add onions and cook until opaque and caramelizing. Add liqueur, and ignite with match. Stir with long-handled heat-proof spoon until flame is dying and pan is deglazed. (Skip this step if you are using anise seed sachet.) Add all other ingredients except chicory. Stir well, and bring to boil.
Reduce to simmer and cook 3-4 minutes. Remove anise sachet. Add endive and simmer 5-10 minutes more. Taste and season if needed. Serve in bowls garnished with reserved vegetables. Goes well with cornbread.
ASIAN VEGETABLES (VEGAN)
Chef Detec especially likes Thai dishes, and likes to use Thai hot peppers for flavoring. He recommends tying them in a cheesecloth to cook with the other vegetables, and removing them when the food is the "right heat." This creative dish can be varied in many ways.
Choose a variety of vegetables and cut them in julienne sticks of varying thickness. For instance, zucchini will cook faster than carrots, so they can be thicker.
Other vegetables include water chestnuts, snow peas, portabella or button mushrooms, sweet peppers and broccoli (separate the florets into little pieces, then julienne the stems.
Heat olive oil in skillet, flavored with a little sesame oil (not too much of either).
Add vegetables and stir-fry until tender crisp.
Meanwhile, cook rice according to preference. The Japanese style is to boil until texture is pasty. Use stock instead of plain water. For whole grain rice, first brown in skillet, then add water, cover, and take off the burner and let it stand. It will cook to perfection, Chef Detec says.
To serve, pile the rice on a platter, making a hole in the center. Place the cooked vegetables in the center. Twist a handful of fresh chive so they "fan out" and arrange atop the vegetables. Garnish with a dab of duck sauce (sweet-sour sauce) mixed with a little soy sauce, or even salsa.
ANOTHER SAUCE
Put 1 can of Harvard beets into a blender with 1 small jar of horseradish, and blend until smooth. This can be used in place of the duck sauce.
PESTO, WITH VARIATIONS
In food processor, place two large bunches of basil (leaves only), 1 full bulb of garlic, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, 1 cup olive oil, and 1/4 cup nuts. Chef Detec recommends pine nuts, almonds, or especially pistachios, because they are nice and oily, he says. He also likes to add sun dried tomatoes in oil to this mixture. He recommends processing them first so they are smooth when you add the other ingredients.