For those in Delaware’s restaurant industry, the Cornerstone Awards are the culinary equivalent of the Academy Awards. “It’s the one night that they can come out and celebrate themselves,” said Carrie Leishman, president and CEO of the Delaware Restaurant Association, which holds the awards. “It validates all the hard work that they do, and it’s very special. It can also be very emotional.”
Chef Hari Cameron sits down with WDDE contributor Pam George to discuss his his Rehoboth Beach culinary adventure a(Muse.)
Chef Hari Cameron sits down with WDDE contributor Pam George to discuss his his Rehoboth Beach culinary adventure a(Muse.)
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The 12th annual event, scheduled for Nov. 11, beginning at 6 p.m. at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, should be no different. This year, the ceremony will recognize The Back Porch Café, founded in 1974, with a special tribute to owner Leo J. Medisch, who died Aug. 21.
Medisch is widely credited for boosting Rehoboth Beach’s dining scene. His efforts helped pave the way for a newer kid on the block.
Hari Cameron, owner of the whimsically named a(MUSE.), also in Rehoboth Beach, will receive the 2013 Delaware Restaurant of the Year award. The restaurant is only two years old, but it’s no stranger to honors. Open Table in September listed a(MUSE.) among the 100 top spots for foodies.
“It’s a testament to the staff’s hard work,” Cameron said. “This is not a one-man show by any means.”
Admittedly, Cameron is a familiar presence on the Delaware dining scene. He was titillating taste buds long before he opened the Baltimore Avenue restaurant. He previously worked at Nage, also known for innovative cuisine.
“He’s cutting edge,” Leishman said of Cameron. “He’s really taken Delaware by storm and in the culinary end of things, he’s the ‘talk of the town,’ so to speak.”
Frequent diners at a(MUSE.) might agree. Cameron, a 2013 James Beard Award nominee in the rising star category, continually pushes the envelope. For a recent Salvador Dali-themed dinner, he was inspired by the abstract artist’s painting of large cuts of beef.
To salute the scene, Cameron diced tenderloin into a tartar, dressed it with mirin, a rice wine, and oil, and topped it with bone marrow powder and a crumble of bone marrow, which he’d previously broken up in a vat of smoky liquid nitrogen.
“He combines precise food technique and skill with an innovative and inspired vision that pushes the boundary of culinary artistry,” said Josh Grapski, the owner of Nage.
A free spirit
Watch Chef Cameron create an unconventional steak tartare dish especially for WDDE.
Watch Chef Cameron create an unconventional steak tartare dish especially for WDDE..
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Cameron, born in Seaford, grew up with an open mind. His father, who for a time owned a meditation center, had a guru, and the family followed him. They moved around, from Salisbury, Md., to Ithaca, N.Y. When Cameron was in fifth grade, the family settled back in Sussex County, where they had relatives.
While most kids were eating meatloaf and spaghetti, Cameron and his two brothers tucked into sushi, Thai food and curries. His diet was mostly vegetarian until a burger after a high school soccer game whetted his appetite for meat.
When community college and a landscaping job didn’t pan out, Cameron got a job at The Buttery in Lewes, where he went from waiting tables to creating salads in the kitchen. He wanted each salad to be a work of art.
While working at Espuma, then-owner Kevin Reading took him under his wing, and Cameron went to Reading’s alma mater, The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in Philadelphia — all while working full time at the beach.
Cameron joined Reading when the restaurateur opened Nage in 2004, which quickly became known as a hotspot for culinary creativity. (Reading left Nage to open Abbott’s Grill in Milford and Grapski is now the sole owner.)
Grapski helped Cameron open a(MUSE.) in 2012. The name has many meanings. There’s the obvious: the muse is a goddess of inspiration. Cameron also cites the French tradition of providing an amuse-bouche, a single bite-sized hors d’oeuvre that “makes the mouth happy,” he said. “I think food should be fun.”
Adapting the avant-garde
Cameron’s inspiration stems from the mid-Atlantic. “Here in Delaware, we have the beautiful ocean on one side and excellent farmland on the other,” he said. He estimates that he works with about 30 purveyors. Many are local, but some are in Philadelphia and Virginia.
He can’t imagine cooking without lemons and limes, which don’t grow well here; but he does refrain from using avocados, which are too closely tied to California and Mexico. For Cameron, seasonal is best. You might find only hydroponic lettuce on the menu in July, for example, since lettuces grow best in cool weather.
Cameron opened a(MUSE.) with a small plate concept featuring what many would consider adventurous food. Take potted chicken, made with layers of shredded meat, chicken liver mousse, foie gras and whiskey. Ingredients on that first menu also included lamb belly, absinthe-laced sweet breads and bacon made with pig jowls.
“I knew it was aggressive in some areas,” he said. “I figured it could be a hard lesson—something that didn’t work— or it could quickly catch on.”
Cameron soon realized that some diners didn’t want to linger over four or five small plates. They wanted a full entrée so they could move on to other beach activities.
He adjusted the menu accordingly. It’s now divided into “firsts, starters, mains and sweets.” Tasting menus feature four, six and even 11 courses.
He also adapts dishes to suit diners’ tastes, although he warns them if it might compromise the flavor. He has even sent staff out for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese to make little diners happy.
Even for a visionary, denying a diner what they want is clearly not Cameron’s style. “It puts bad energy out in the world, and bad news travels faster than good news,” he noted.
Cameron works long hours, but that doesn’t stop him from being creative. While at Nage, he didn’t record his ideas. Now he takes photos of his dishes and posts them on Instagram, and he writes detailed remarks in Marble Notebooks.
He’d love to start a food truck business, open a restaurant with only a tasting menu, open an eatery focused on casual food—even hotdogs—or have a place with a demonstration kitchen, where he could teach young students.
But all that can wait—for now. “I’m trying to perfect this restaurant and make it great,” he said. “I’m trying to pace myself.”
Sometimes, he concludes, “it’s all about the process and not the end result.”
