What began three decades ago as a $1.25-an-hour job has transformed into a career filled with recipes and memories for Chef Eric Alderton.
Working as a teenager at Little Caesars and then at Burger King intrigued Alderton to the point where he chose the culinary arts as a career. Now, he’s the executive chef of Addison Township’s Lakeville Inn.
Alderton studied business administration at Wayne State University and worked as a bus boy at Peabody’s, a Birmingham restaurant.
‘After a month there, I started working in the kitchen because I thought that was a lot more fun,? Alderton recalled. ‘Ever since, I’ve been working in the kitchen.?
Working in the kitchen means doing every conceivable job ? fry cook, pantry cook, broiler cook, night chef, sous chef, kitchen manager and executive chef. Alderton received formal culinary training at Oakland Community College’s Culinary Arts program. He’s been a member of The American Culinary Federation, Chef’s d’Cuisine and The Chef’s 200 Club.
Along the way, Alderton has worked with many chefs. Among them have been Bill Dion of Cherry Creek Golf Course, Roger Sutton of Peabody’s, Mike Farmley (who won the Michigan Culinary Association’s Chef of the Year) and even a Yugoslavian chef who earned gold medals at the Culinary Olympics in Germany.
When many people think of chefs, often the image that comes to mind is a demanding person who insists on absolute perfection each time. Inevitably, some may even think of reality shows like Hell’s Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares. Are all chefs he’s worked with like Gordon Ramsay?
Not necessarily, said Alderton. Some aren’t while some are even tougher. He recalls one chef who never gave any compliments to his workers. Another chef was ex-military.
‘That chef, at the end of night, would have us down in the butcher shop in the basement, have us stand in line and would yell at us with us responding ‘Yes, sir!? or ‘No, sir!?? Alderton recalled. ‘It was just his way of making you respect him. He was in the military and a lot of the very good chefs came out of the military. I probably learned more from him and respected him more than any other chef I worked for.?
While Alderton has learned from working with good chefs, he said the best learning experiences can come from working with chefs who, frankly, aren’t very good. From the subpar chefs, you can learn from their mistakes and see how not to cook.
In his early twenties, Alderton was first offered the chance to be a chef in the kitchen. He declined it, feeling he wasn’t ready and wanted to work his way up and ‘pay his dues?. He worked as a sous chef (meaning he was second in charge) and a night chef.
Being a chef can result in 70-hour work weeks as a chef works to cook, manage orders, order product, manage people and deal with the many other issues that might arise. A few months ago Alderton even painted some walls in the kitchen. In the past he’s also done plumbing repairs and dealt with building contractors. ‘A chef wears many hats,? he said. ‘When something’s wrong, the first place people go is to the chef.?
When it comes to managing people, he’s found that sometimes a different approach can work well, depending on who’s on your staff.
‘You have to be a psychologist sometimes with your employees,? he said. ‘I’ve had a few employees that when you treat them like an adult, you have some problems with them. But when you treat them like a six-year-old, they work phenomenally for you.?
Being a good chef means learning how to become a creature of habit and being able to react instinctively, especially when you’re handling multiple orders at the same time. It also means being flexible in the culinary business, which Alderton describes as changing constantly.
‘Every seven years you do a repeat,? he said. ‘You have to keep up with the trends and evolve. ‘For a while there are influences from the Middle East. Then there’s been Asian, Southwestern and French influences.?
French cooking with southwestern influences happens to be the cooking style Alderton likes. He worked with a French chef to open up a restaurant and found himself intrigued with French cuisine.
‘I love the French style of cooking,? he said. ‘French is very peasant cooking, meaning that they work with what they have available. Because of this, they came up with phenomenal sauces and garnishes and ways to make the food taste better.?
Alderton picked up the southwestern influence while working as a chef at the Long Branch Saloon (formerly the site of the recently-closed Kalloway’s).
‘I fell in love with a lot of the southwestern dishes since a lot of them are clean, natural and fresh,? he said.
One thing Alderton likes to do with his food is implement what he sees as the next big trend in cooking: delicious food that’s also healthy. Instead of putting lots of butter in his dishes, he likes instead to use arrowroot flour to tighten up sauces while putting in a pinch of butter at the end.
‘It’s a lot healthier for you but still has the same flavor,? he explained. ‘I do a lot of things towards the heart-smart side, and I try to be health conscious and use less fats and butter.?
Over the years, Alderton has had the opportunity to serve famous customers. Among them have been golfers Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Michigan attorney Geoffrey Fieger, comedian/filmmaker Jerry Lewis and actor Ricardo Montalban.
‘Montalban was the most gentle person you’d ever want to meet,? Alderton said of the late Montalban, who starred in the 1970s TV fantasy-drama Fantasy Island. Alderton cooked for him at the Novi Hilton years ago. ‘He didn’t mind people coming up to him for autographs. He knew he was a star but at the same time he knew he still had to keep in contact with people who made him a star. He was phenomenal.?
Alderton received a very warm ‘thank you? note from Lewis; the comedian requested cheese sticks, which weren’t on the menu at Mario’s, a Detroit Italian restaurant where the chef was working. So, he made them from scratch. Lewis wrote they were the best cheese sticks he’d ever had.
Over the years, Alderton has won various cooking awards, including a chili cook-off for the March of Dimes, silver and bronze medals from various culinary organizations, awards from the OCC while he studied there.
While Alderton’s three children will help him out in the kitchen once in a while, he tries to discourage them from following in his footsteps.
‘I love what I do, but it’s not for everybody,? he explained. ‘Before [the Lakeville Inn], my job averaged 80-85 hours per week. You work holidays, weekends and nights…You also always have a deadline being a chef–getting the orders in and making sure you have product for the week.?
Alderton advises those interested in becoming chefs to start at the bottom, work their way up and see if it’s something they like to do. While culinary school is a good place to go, he’s found the best thing for a culinary career is practical, hands-on experience.
‘I became a chef, I wanted to be on the line with my crew,? he explained. ‘I like to get down and dirty and do the job as they do. How can they respect me unless I’m doing the same job they’re doing??
His website is at www.chefericskitchen.com.