10?’s with Patrick Sartin, The Man in the Black Truck

Patrick Sartin started cooking at a young age in Dayton working in several local kitchens including The Country Club of the North, Rocky’s Pizza, and Kohler Catering, before attending the Culinary Institute of America, where he graduated in 2002. After graduation Sartin did a stint as the Head Chef at Chanterelles here in Dayton, before he achieved his goal of travel and work in as many different regions of the US as he could, gaining as much culinary knowledge as possible.

Patrick has worked in the industry across the United States from Colorado to Maine working with very talented culinarians including two ACF Certified Master Chefs. As a chef for the prestigious Ocean Properties LTD in Bar Harbor Maine for the last 7 years, Patrick assisted in opening and overseeing the daily operations in hotel kitchens and large catering facilities up and down the east coast. Sartin has extensive knowledge and experience executing large banquet functions, operating multiple outlets, and producing a wide variety of foods indigenous to the different regions and cultures of The United States. With his new mobile venture Harvest Mobile Cusine, a valuable tool for street vending, catering, and exposure of flavor, Patrick hopes to spread the love of cuisine he has gathered through his extensive travels and aims to show how important it is to get back to the simplicity of cooking, using local ingredients and simple time honored techniques.  Patrick takes on DMM’s infamous 10 questions:

What is your favorite ingredient to cook with?

Fresh local ingredients are my passion. It may sound simple but I can’t wait for the local fruit and vegetables to become available. One of my favorites is the strawberry, there is simply nothing like a fresh local strawberry.

What ingredient do you dread? Every cell in my body is opposed to the idea of using frozen or canned ingredients.

What is your favorite dish to make? I live for the opportunity to enlighten people and expand palates; introducing someone to something new is a challenge I get excited about.  I like getting meat eaters to try a vegetarian dish and right now I am having a lot of success doing that with my Falafel.

What is your favorite pig out food?
This is going to sound like I am making it up but the only thing I could say I really “pig out” on is salad. Even my four year old is a big salad eater, believe it or not.

What restaurant do you dine out in?
I am sure you’ve heard it before but for cooks, there isn’t much time to eat out. That being said I love to eat anywhere that features farm to table cuisine like Meadowlark. Other than that we always choose locally owned venues like Marrions Pizza over the corporate chains.

What is your best advice to home chefs?

My best advice is twofold, firstly keep it simple. Don’t over think your dish, and keep the seasonings straight forward. Secondly, look to your local bounty, focus on farm fresh produce and meat.

If you could invite any 4 guests to a dinner party who would they be and why?

My Grandmother Caroline:  To thank her for showing me the ropes of cooking at a young age, and guiding me towards my passion for farm fresh ingredients;

My Mother:  To share my accomplishments to the one person who has always provided that stable ground for me to stumble upon;

My wife/daughter: The two most important people in my life who I strive to nurture with every small step into the future;

Phish(the band):  For providing the musical inspiration that continues to push me forward down the bumpy roads of life.

Who do you look up to in the industry and why?

I guess I most admire the two Certified Master Chefs I worked with.  Dan Dumont has a breadth of knowledge and passion that is impressive and inspiring. I am driven to achieve a work ethic that I leaned from these chefs who have risen to the very limits of accreditation for our profession.

What do you do on day off?
We are a very outdoors oriented family. We love the Five Rivers MetroParks and often select a new one at random to explore on days off. I love hiking, biking cannoning; these parks are a major draw for Dayton.

The most interesting highlight of my career thus far was the time I spent working for Bar Harbor resorts and was hand selected by white house staff for an opportunity to cook for the first family. I was chosen to join a team of two other chefs who catered to the Obama’s when they visited the resorts. The most memorable times were spent preparing their picnic lunches. We prepared local meals for the sitting president and his family to enjoy in the park.   The picnic basket was the size of a car trunk and was loaded with beautiful china and stemware.

 

For your chance to try a meal from the Harvest Mobile Cuisine Truck you can check his calendar to find a  location near you.  You can also hire him for catering for special events with customized menus to suit. The truck’s menu is constantly changing, but we can recommend the chicken tortilla soup and the tacos.  You can aslo follow Harvest Mobile  on Facebook

Here’s where you can the truck this week:

TUESDAY
KETTERING    11:00-2:00pm
ACCO Brands, LLC.   4751 Hempstead Station Drive

BEAVERCREEK    3:00-8:00
KMart (Across from The Greene)   4480 Indian Ripple R

WEDNESDAY
DAYTON    11:00-2:00
LORD Corporation     4644 Wadsworth Drive

THURSDAY
BEAVERCREEK    11:00-2:00
Apple Valley Business Park   4021 Executive Drive
4021 Executive Drive

FRIDAY
DAYTON   11:00-2:00
Five Rivers Metro Parks    409 East Monument

URBAN NIGHTS FOOD TRUCK RALLY   5:00-10:00
East Monument St. Dayton

SATURDAY

DAYTON    NOON-10:00
Fifth Street Brewpub Open House   1600 East Fifth Street

SUNDAY   12:00-7:00
YELLOW SPRINGS
Village BP   4 Xenia Ave