Happy Wednesday, it's Industry Dish, a bi-weekly feature on Eater San Diego. In this space, our town's restaurant and bar pros weigh in on their favorite eats and drinks, give their thoughts on local food trends and talk about what it's like to work in the San Diego community. Know a chef or bartender who wants to do some sharing? Let us know.
A native of Long Island, New York, Jaison Burke first started working in restaurants at the age of fourteen and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. He developed his passion for local ingredients at various restaurants in Virginia before coming to San Diego, where in 2011 he was named Executive Chef of the Restaurant at The Pearl Hotel, deemed the Best Hotel Restaurant in 2012 by San Diego CityBeat.
What's your favorite thing on the menu right now?
We are so lucky to have access to wonderful fresh fish here, so I like to run a fish special or two every night. It also allows my crew and I to really maximize the produce coming from our partner farms that day. I'm also a big fan of our duck confit with orange marmalade, lentils and beet greens.
Where do you eat when you're not working?
I frequent Carnitas Snack Shack (Chef Hanis Cavin is a fellow New England Culinary Institute alumni) and go to Costa Brava when I want to drink wine and get tapas. I always get the salt cod fritters and the bocorones.
Anything that you're "over", in terms of played-out restaurant and food trends or ingredients?
I'm over the use of the term farm-to table by places that are in reality, not buying from farms. I try really hard to support local farmers every day and I feel the term has really lost its place. Also I don't really get Buzz Buttons, they're kind of like eating a nine volt battery.
Do you have a wish or request for the San Diego food scene?
I would love to see more local meats in San Diego. Sourcing here is harder than it should be. Also I would love to see more people eating full three course meals. Since I moved to San Diego, I have really come to love the craft beers but I also love wine and would like to see a few more wine-related events.
What makes cooking in San Diego different than other cities you've worked in?
The access to local farms and a great variety of produce year round. I have been buying a lot from Herb en Routes on Voltaire Street, just a half mile from The Pearl. In NYC or Virginia, you either have to drive an hour to get to a farm or just settle for a close relationship with your delivery drivers to keep you in the loop on what's coming up the following week.
· The Pearl Hotel [Official Site]
· All Industry Dish Interviews on Eater [~ESD~]
