First and foremost, most people think of June as the marrying month. However, June is also the month we celebrate fatherhood. Instead of flowers, cards, candies and brunch, St. Louisans tend to celebrate dear ol’ dad with a barbecue, a ballgame and a drink.
In the case of the Rooks, who work together at Annie Gunn’s in Chesterfield, the drink of choice is wine for Lou Rook III, the restaurant’s executive chef, and a good whiskey for chef Lou Rook Jr.
When did you start working together? Lou Rook Jr.: 1994.
Lou Rook III: Dad was at Sunset Hills Country Club in Illinois. He didn’t want to be a country club chef any longer. We had worked together catering functions and other things. I was here [at Annie Gunn’s] and I talked with the owner, Thom Sehnert, about bringing Dad on staff and he jumped at the idea.
Jr.: Well, really it was back in 1973. I had a hamburger/root beer drive-in [named King Louie’s] and, like all family businesses, everyone in the family had to help. I didn’t like that job, so I started catering and moving to other things. I progressed and learned as I went along.
III: I started at the drive-in at about 10 years old. I was a stock boy. By the time I was 14, 15, 16, I was helping Dad run King Louie’s. Then I went to college at Mizzou and got a degree in food and service management, then on to The Culinary Institute of America in New York.
Jr.: Originally, I didn’t want him to go into the restaurant business because the hours are long and hard and you don’t have much of a home life. But it’s what he wanted.
Who’s really in charge? Jr.: He is. I have all the fun and he has all the headaches.
How do you leave the father-son relationship at the door?
Jr.: It actually works very well. We frequently think the same, which in itself is kinda scary.
III: We have a great arrangement. Dad comes in about 6:30 a.m. and gets the restaurant ready for the day. I can come in later and stay later without having to sacrifice too much family time.
Does rank ever get pulled? III: I couldn’t call it pulling rank as much as a strong suggestion. I listen to Dad hard. He’s been in the business much longer than me and I respect his opinions. And after all, he taught me the basics. It’s rare – very, very rare – that we are far apart about something.
Where do you get new ideas? III: I have a wife and three daughters, so quiet time at my house is precious. For about two hours, somewhere between 6 and 9 a.m., I have my “quiet time.” I read incessantly and am constantly meeting with farmers, ranchers, fishmongers, cheesemongers and winemongers. Then Dad and I brainstorm.
Jr.: He thinks up new ways to keep the menu fresh, then I implement those ideas.
How often do you change the menu? III: Our goal is to provide interesting and innovative cuisine to our customers, not to freak them out with weird new dishes. I would say that we change the menu about every three to six weeks, depending where we are in the growing season. The menu is driven by the cheese board.
Jr.: Also we have four specials per day. That keeps everyone alert.
What’s the cheese board? Jr.: He’s nuts about cheese.
III: I meet weekly with the cheesemongers to find out what’s new, what’s available, what’s coming. We use cheeses from around the world. It gives our food a different taste and makes us stand out without scaring away the more conservative eater. Once the cheese board is locked in, I change the menu selections based on what’s available.
At family gatherings, how do you keep from talking shop? Jr.: We don’t. Food is in our blood. The greatest time of the year for me is Thanksgiving and Christmas, when the grandkids come over and we make
noodle dumplings.
III: Several of my siblings are in the business, as well as my wife and mom. We talk about life in the restaurant industry.
What’s the most challenging part of your job? III: Controlling the numbers. And the business of running a business. We can’t afford to perform on cruise control. We have to stay fresh and innovative.
Jr.: Making sure that the quality of food we get is the best we can. And, sometimes, trying some of those new ideas.
What was your biggest flop? Jr.: Lamb burgers in the 1970s. They weren’t well accepted. The meat I was getting was very strong and overpowering.
III: When I was in New York, I guinea-pigged a lot on my wife and myself. One night I made a rutabaga-and-blue cheese soup. It was really, really, really, really awful.
What makes Annie Gunn’s stay competitive with all the chains surrounding it? Jr.: The little guy doesn’t have the same kind of cash that the big developers have so we have to work harder.
III: We stay focused on what we do and do it to the best of our ability. We provide quality foods at reasonable prices and servings in a great atmosphere. That’s who we are and what we strive every day to provide to each and every customer.
This article appears in Jun 1-30, 2006.