Toque of the Town: River Passage
Executive Chef John Akhile's gourmet approach adds fusion flavors and fine-dining presentation to Stoney River's menu.
By Monica Rogers, Contributing Editor -- Chain Leader, 8/1/2003 12:00:00 AM
 "My transition from fine dining to Stoney River has been great," says Executive Chef John Akhile. "The business aspects of the job have been very rewarding, and the creative aspect, while different, is still fulfilling." |
It took John Akhile 20 years to realize his dream of operating his own fine-dining restaurant, only to see the place closed two years later despite great reviews. But Akhile’s reputation and résumé (executive sous chef at Dallas’ Baby Routh; executive chef at Atlanta’s Azalea) had dozens knocking at his door, hoping he’d join with them in launching other new ventures.
The winning candidate? Nashville, Tenn.-based O’Charley’s Inc., which wanted Akhile to help grow its newly acquired concept, Stoney River Legendary Steaks. In the two-and-a-half years since, Executive Chef Akhile has shaped new menus for the concept and has begun formalizing procedures that will be used as the system expands.
“John has a very unusual set of skills,” says Rich May, Stoney River executive vice president. “Not only is he a great chef with a ton of great experience, which will continue the evolution of the menu, but he’s also a good kitchen manager. He understands the dynamics of the back of the house and is very good about the training and development of people—critical for a growing concept.”
Experience at Work
Akhile came to Austin, Texas, from Nigeria in 1974 to study business administration. He started working in restaurants “just to keep a little change in my pocket.” Good fortune led to a three-year stint working under Pierre Doussan at Le Louvre in Dallas. “Doussan really opened my eyes to what could be done with food,” Akhile says. “He laid the groundwork for everything that followed.”
What followed—three years at Dallas’ Old Warsaw, another classic French restaurant, and a position under Henri Boubee at the Registry Hotel—got Akhile in the door with Stephen Pyles and Kevin Rathbun at Baby Routh, and then to Atlanta under Thomas Catherall at Azalea.
The French and Southwest techniques Akhile perfected along the way surface on Stoney River’s menu. His rack of lamb, for example, “was one of the first things I learned from Doussan,” he says. Debuted last year, Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb Dijonnaise is served with corn-bread dressing and sauteed French beans and sells for $25.95.
Southwestern flavors show up in the Southwestern Roasted Chicken Salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, corn, battered and fried onions, crisp tortillas and spicy honey vinaigrette ($10.95), which is in test in Stoney River’s Chicago-area stores this summer.
New Evolutions
While 60 percent of Stoney River’s customers (most in the 30 to 55 age range) order steaks, the remainder chooses from the growing roster of Akhile’s “gourmet entrees.” The three launched last year—the rack of lamb; Cajun-style Blackened Scallops Capellini with asparagus and smoked tomato chardonnay sauce ($17.95); and Citrus Roasted Half Chicken with corn bread dressing and steamed broccoli ($16.95)—are all performing well. The scallop dish, for example, is now among the three top-selling seafood entrees, and the roasted chicken is selling 20 percent better than the Hunter Chicken entree it replaced.
Akhile’s Cappuccino Crème Brûlée ($7.95) and Roasted Chicken Spanakopita ($7.95) appetizer—also launched last year—have moved to the top 25 percent of their categories.
For Stoney River, such evolution is a key menu strategy. O’Charley’s acquired the concept in May 2000, and has been working to differentiate the steakhouse both from 199-unit O’Charley’s and from higher-end competitors. “We want to be very careful that Stoney River is not perceived as an O’Charley’s with a higher ticket,” says May. “That’s why the design and food are so important. The check average is $25 below the classic downtown steakhouse, but the ambience and menu are commensurate.”
 The Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb Dijonnaise was inspired by what John Akhile learned from Frech wunderkind Chef Pierre Doussan at Le Louvre in Dallas. |
Barry Stouffer, restaurant analyst for Richmond, Va.-based BB&T Capital Markets, thinks the concept’s niche is a strong one. But he asks, “Will they be able to grow it fast enough to impact the company’s overall growth rate?”
May points out that “we did grow three stores in nine months, which is a very quick pace.” Looking ahead, however, he says O’Charley’s only plans one or two Stoney Rivers per year. “Speed isn’t what we’re after. This concept affords us some diversification and takes a bit of the pressure off of growing the main concept.”
Amy Green, equity analyst for Nashville-based Avondale Partners, sees Stoney River as a good complement to O’Charley’s. She says, “The delta between Stoney River and O’Charley’s is very wide. They pull a very different demographic and work in different markets. O’Charley’s could very easily open a Stoney River in a place where they couldn’t do an O’Charley’s.”
For his part, Akhile says he is excited about helping the company grow and evolve. “The saying, ‘I live and breathe my work,’ really applies to me,” he says. “I am very passionate about the hospitality industry and doing what I do here.”
Make Mine Tall
Keeping both creativity and future growth in mind, Akhile has simplified some fine-dining plating techniques so Stoney River’s kitchen managers can consistently execute them. “Height is very important,” he says, “because it adds drama to the plate. You can use height to accomplish the same aesthetics you do in fine dining, but in a simpler, more accessible way.”
Akhile’s trick for rack of lamb is to cut it into two sections, interlock the bones and place a sprig of rosemary in the center. New salads will “demonstrate a lot of height, with the vegetables mounded on plates and crisp fried onions, tortillas or chow mein noodles sprinkled above.”
The new salads, which are in test along with two sandwiches and ancho-sauced baby back ribs, are designed to broaden Stoney River’s menu appeal. They include the Southwestern Roasted Chicken Salad, plus the Sesame-Seared Yellowfin Tuna Salad ($15.95) and Bourbon-Marinated Chargrilled Sirloin Salad ($14.95). “Late-night guests or Sunday lunch diners aren’t always going to want a steak,” he explains. The new items are at a slightly lower price point ($8.95 to $16) than other dinner entrees, “and should encourage more frequent guest visits.”
Coming Up
Now Akhile is busy putting together a “compendium of recipes that managing partners can pull into their menu depending on regionalization of flavors and tastes.” Stoney River will stay with its core of 35 or so menu items but will allow managing partners to choose from one to six items from the compendium. “I’m developing the master recipe book right now,” he says. “There are several dozen recipes ready, and I hope to have another three to six items that we’ve researched and completed costing on in the next several months.”
Also new: “We are looking at the idea of having a rotating special, which would give us the opportunity to test things and broaden audience appeal on a monthly basis.”
While menu development has thus far focused on gourmet entrees, appetizers, salads and desserts, Akhile says he has a “whole host of things” he would like to do with steaks. He thinks he can lower Stoney River’s food cost (currently about 38 percent) by working with medallions.
“Right now all of our steaks use the center cut of the tenderloin, leaving the butt and tops,” he explains. “Shaping these into medallions would give us a lot of new opportunities.” Akhile enjoys working with marinades and sauces, and says these would be a good match for the medallions.
“I can actually taste something before I make it,” Akhile says. “So as I create, I build an item toward the flavor profile that I’m tasting.”
Menu development happens at the Deerfield, Ill., unit, but, he says, “I get ideas all the time.” To record the unexpected, Akhile carries a notebook everywhere. “The creative process is interesting. Things come when you least expect them. You get started in one direction and then you wake up in the morning and, ‘Eureka!’ there it is.”
| MENU SAMPLER |
| Appetizers |
| Roasted Chicken Spanakopita with spinach, mushrooms and Parmesan cheese, topped with smoked tomato Chardonnay sauce, $7.95 |
| Salads |
| Head of Lettuce with bleu cheese dressing, bacon, tomato and scallions $6.95 |
| Gourmet Entrees |
| Cajun-Style Blackened Scallops Capellini with asparagus and smoked tomato Chardonnay sauce, $17.95 |
| Horseradish Encrusted Grouper with caramelized onion mashed potatoes and green beans, $21.95 |
| Legendary Steaks |
| Lodge Filet, 10-ounces, with choice of side, $23.95 |
| Table Side Dishes |
| Mashed Cinnamon Sweet Potatoes, $4.95 |
| Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes, $4.95 |
| Desserts |
| Almond Laced Top Hat: two almond-laced cookies with Haagen-Dazs ice cream, fresh berries and Triple Sec saauce, $7.95 |
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