For Immediate Release Media Contact: Pam Jones or Marjorie Beenders
June 30, 2010 Phone: 573-636-8282 « Email: pam@tbwgroup.net
Top Chefs Create Meals to Remember
at Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks
LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MO -- Everyone knows Central Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks is a prime destination for boating, fishing, golf, family activities and shopping. In between all the fun, however, visitors have to eat! Lucky for visitors and residents throughout the Lake area, they’ll find more than 130 restaurants, offering everything from contemporary gourmet cuisine to down-home Ozarks BBQ and catfish…superb steaks and seafood to Cajun and ethnic favorites…plus all-you-can-eat buffets, nationally known chains and local hideaways. Many dining spots feature panoramic Lake vistas, and more than 40 overlook the Lake or sit right on it and are accessible by boat.
But what truly sets a restaurant apart is its chef—and the Lake of the Ozarks area is fortunate to boast several world-class chefs who make every meal a memorable dining experience. Among them are Executive Chefs Chris Case at The Duck, Shane Claspill at J. Bruner’s and David Prody at Baxter’s Lakeside Grille.
Chef Chris Case of The Duck in Lake Ozark says he was influenced by his grandfather and father, both excellent cooks. “They always made extravagant meals that took a while but were worth waiting for,” he says. Case, who grew up in Connecticut, started cooking at age 14. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, his first professional cooking job was in Germany, where he spent nearly two years. Then Case continued traveling and cooking in the Virgin Islands, Connecticut and Colorado, where he met his wife. They honeymooned in Thailand, where, Case says, the fresh, exotic flavors made a lasting impression. In 2006 the Cases relocated to the Lake (his wife has family here). He quickly was hired by one of the area’s well-established, upscale waterfront restaurants, The Duck, recognized for excellence by both The Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast magazines. (The establishment’s name comes from the tale of a lucky little duck who defied death via boat propeller.) The restaurant is open mid-March through Dec. 31.
Case says owners Donna Ziegler and Mark Hooker asked him to maintain The Duck’s popular signature dishes, but to make them more flavorful and healthy. “Since I love Asian style food, I brought that influence into some of the cuisine here,” Case says. “Some of the fish dishes also were inspired by Virgin Islands flavors.” He also describes some of the Duck’s specialties as Nouveau, a fusion of American and French classics but with a lighter touch. “We also serve very high-end Certified Angus Beef, plus a lot of seafood such as Sea Bass Provencal, Cioppino and Salmon with Champagne Sauce. And yes,” he adds, “we do serve duck—duck a l’orange--at The Duck.” Stocks, dressings and breads are made fresh from scratch daily. “And the desserts are really, really good,” Case adds; these include crème brulee, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, molten chocolate cake, key lime pie and classic strawberry shortcake.
“I’ve always considered myself an artist,” says Case, who is a vegetarian. “I believe there is no higher art form than cooking, because when I create a dish, it’s made just for that one person. My food is art that can be consumed.” Case and his wife recently became new parents, and also are busy with plans to open a microbrewery. “We love the Lake area,” he says. “I don’t see us moving anywhere for a long time.”
Chef Shane Claspill of J. Bruner’s in Osage Beach is a talented, self-taught chef who has been associated with the restaurant since 1987. A native of Springfield, Mo., the long-time Lake-area resident started washing dishes at J. Bruner’s at age 15. “I started at the bottom and worked my way up,” Claspill says. “I learned a lot from John Bruner, who created the restaurant 30 years ago after he left the Potted Steer, as well as from the other chefs at J. Bruner’s.” John Bruner passed away in 2000; Claspill was named executive chef when Patrick Boylan purchased the restaurant from the Bruner family in 2006.
The restaurant offers casual fine dining with an emphasis on steaks, prime rib and seafood. It’s the only place at the Lake to enjoy John Bruner’s original Batter Fried Lobster Tail, a Lake-area classic. Claspill also recommends the new lobster macaroni entree, as well as the mahi mahi with a unique sauce made from port wine, mushrooms, bacon and butter—“everything bad for you, but it tastes so good,” Claspill says. “It just melts in your mouth.” J. Bruner’s hand-breaded onion rings also are a special treat. The signature dessert, ice cream crunch, features home-made ice cream with “a special mix of nuts and crunchy, yummy stuff with whipped cream,” he says.
Claspill says one thing that distinguishes J. Bruner’s is that “our food purveyors know we will not accept anything that does not meet our strict standards. It’s down to a science now.” In addition, “Patrick appreciates us and makes sure we have everything we need, and he keeps the restaurant open all year,” Claspill says. “As a result, the staff wants to stay. It’s good to have all this experience here.” He adds, “It’s a very smooth operation. Everyone gets along.”
When he’s not cooking at work, Claspill likes to cook at home—particularly steaks, pasta and Mexican. “I try to tempt my wife with new things,” he says.
Chef David Prody at Baxter’s Lakeside Grille in Lake Ozark says he started in the restaurant business bussing tables when he was a little kid. In fact, on Memorial Day, 1970, at the long-gone Lake-area restaurant, the Double Torch, “the grill cook quit so we taped together six milk crates that I could stand on and fry food the rest of the day,” Prody recalls. He apprenticed under Bernard Cretier at Le Vichyssoise restaurant in Chicago, and at The Lodge of Four Seasons under Andre Torres. “I was ready to leave the Lake area but I have five kids and they like it here,” Prody says. “Baxter’s was hot and happening so I pursued them and happily they hired me.” The restaurant, which features a spectacular panoramic Lake view, debuted in August 2008. It’s owned by The Lodge of Four seasons and is open year-round.
Owned by The Lodge of Four Seasons, Baxter’s is an American style restaurant, featuring certified Angus beef. “Also we try to stay local as much as possible, using local or regional vendors,” he says. “There’s a fish supplier located here who does a great job.” Specialties are offered on a rotating basis, and currently include starters such as pork tortilla soup, Swiss onion soup and in the winter, white chili. “Everyone loves our 6-ounce top sirloin served with a skewer of jumbo scallops, shrimp and a sherry balsamic glaze,” Prody notes. For dessert, he recommends the caramel gooey butter cake or ultimate chocolate cake.
“The volume of work we do here is amazing,” Prody says. “Looking ahead, my goal is to help Baxter’s maintain its quality and consistency, and let it grow into what it will ultimately become.”
Asked who they would recommend as other notable Lake-chefs, these three chefs said Michael Hollingsworth at The Lodge of Four Seasons; Pierre Torres, son of the renowned chef Andre Torres, at Porto Cima; Jeff Super at JJ’s at the Copper Pot in Laurie; and Joey Homm at the City Grille. And of course there are many other fine chefs who make dining at the Lake of the Ozarks something special at every meal.
For more details about dining at the Lake of the Ozarks, please call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at (800) FUN-LAKE (386-5253) or visit www.funlake.com where you also can find out about Lake-area hiking and biking, lodging and shopping, attractions and events at the Lake.
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