You could say that everything about Chef Amaury’s Epicurean Affair in Aurora, Illinois is as ironic as it is amazingly wonderful.
Here sits a restaurant serving fine, Contemporary American cuisine, worthy of world class recognition and yet it is located next to a Ponderosa Steak House in an unattractive strip mall in a town not known for its foodie population.
Yet Chef Amaury Rosado, who trained to become a chef and graduated from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC), after a full career as a social worker, sees his little three-star, 35 seat restaurant as part of something greater.
As a former social worker, Rosado was used to helping create “good” out of not-so-perfect situations, so this is a man who would prevail no matter where he was located, because once you are inside this beautiful space you are quickly transported into a dining bliss with immaculate service and spectacular, delectable cuisine each and every time you visit.
And for the seven years he has been open, you have only been able to visit on Friday and Saturday nights. It is this exclusivity that shapes Rosado’s reputation for personally greeting each guest and talking over the menu particulars. With an open kitchen, he can not only feed their souls with (80 percent) organic food that he has painstakingly prepared, but he can playfully engage the curious guests as they watch what kitchen action they can see from their comfortable tables.
Rosado grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago and attended Roberto Clemente High School where Rosado magically got his first look at what community really meant and what prompted him to excel, and made him want to be a leader, helping as many as he could along the way. After high school Rosado enlisted in the United States Navy where he served proudly for several years before discharged honorably.
After graduating from The University of Illinois at Chicago, and pursuing a career in social work for several years, Rosado’s wife, Trisha, who is an executive with Sara Lee Corporation, told him to follow his heart and pursue his passion for cooking.
Many have asked him why he compares social work to being a chef and Rosado will tell you that he feels he is still entrenched in the community, only now that community consists of local and mostly organic farmers, who struggle daily to keep their farms alive.
“I have lived here for the past 13 years and have seen many of those farms disappear,” Rosado recalls. “We want to support the local community and their families. These are people who care greatly about the environment and while I pay a much higher price for their product, I feel it ultimately allows me to produce a better experience for my guests. I serve 80 percent organic products here and I want to procure what is best for our guests who put what I cook into their bodies. That is an honor I take quite seriously.”
Aurora, Illinois is the second largest city in the state of Illinois and is located on the banks of the beautiful Fox River. While it is more known for its rich history in theater than for food, Chef Amaury’s Epicurean Affair has been a beacon for fine dining and through his involvement in helping feed the hungry, he has educated those who may have never stepped into such an establishment before meeting Amaury, with his wide smile and ebullient personality.
“I am so joyful when I can make a difference in someone’s life. When I am able to help feed a hungry family through various charities a synergy forms. The expression of happiness when someone is enjoying what I have cooked for them is simply priceless to me. Like Brillat-Savarin said years ago – ‘to receive a guest is to take charge of his happiness during the entire time he is under your roof.’”
Another question Chef Rosado is often asked is why don’t you open more than two days a week? The initial reason was so that Rosado could be around while his boys were growing up.
Now that they are teenagers it is not an issue; however Rosado recognized that it was better to be busy all the time because it was exclusive, then to be open when business might not be there. This way he could control labor costs, the move, he says, has turned out to be a savvy one.
With a goal of being a world-class restaurant, Rosado wants his staff to share in that dream and they too enjoy being able to offer their guests fresh product that will be used up completely in one week. Rosado does not believe in waste and his pre-fix menu has its attention fine tuned to locality and freshness. Another advantage is having the restaurant available during the week for private functions. “We have corporations that are able to wine and dine their clients and employees without breaking the bank. We are no means a bargain basement restaurant, but for the quality and service we offer, we are relatively inexpensive compared to restaurants in downtown Chicago.”
Rosado says he takes a very personal and unpretentious approach to service. “We never explain to our guests how to eat something. If they are unfamiliar with an item we explain the origins and what makes the product so interesting. Generally, I feel people are intimidated by fine dining. I believe the key to hospitality at our restaurant is that our guests believe that the restaurant is theirs. The restaurant belongs to the community. Again, this is like another link to social work.”
Helping make the experience truly exceptional is Trisha Rosado and her sister Kelly McFarland. “My wife dons an apron after getting off work and takes charge of the front of the house. She and Kelly are the constant presence in the front and Trisha is the keeper of our philosophy. They are a dynamic duo and the engine that keep the front of the house going.”
Rosado’s parents, Nilda and Enrique, both retired, are often seen helping with prep work while sons Justin, 16 and Nathan 14, are also proud to help at times with this family affair.
“My wife and I are known for pulling up a chair and just talking to our guests over a glass of wine. We talk about our kids, jobs, friends, and life in general. We feel honored to be on this kind of level with the people who come to dine at Chef Amaury’s.”
Aside from his pursuit of creating excellence on a daily basis, Rosado’s philosophy of cooking is one of simplicity, which coincides with his recipe for life, it seems.
For Cooking:
Take the best ingredients one can procure, never overcook, never under season anything and coax out the flavors by combining sweet, salty, bitter and sweet to arrive at the best flavors.
For Life:
Be the best person you can be. Don’t be greedy. Add some personality, give back to your community and you will coax out the best life you can have.
Rosado is a chef who loves owning his own place. He admires many other chefs for their unique style but he finds being in control over his own menu to be invigorating and having everything to do with controlling his own destiny. Lately, his destiny seems to be pointing to opening in a larger space within Aurora.
“We could not be in a more obscure place,” Rosado laughs. “I feel like the last 7 years we have spent preparing for this new opportunity. We always want to be memorable for our food and service and our location. We are now ready for expanded hours and a larger menu. We are looking at a location on the Fox River with a beautiful patio. It is very exciting. It is in line with our goal of becoming known as a world-class restaurant.”
“I admire chefs such as Eric Rippert, Thomas Keller, Charlie Trotter, Pierre Gagnaire, Alice Waters, Rick Bayless, Alain Ducasse, Fernand Point (deceased) and Douglas Rodriguez. I have only talked to Rick Bayless once while still in cooking school but I hope to meet some of these chefs someday. I love reading cookbooks by chefs, it is one of the ways I spend my free time.”
Chef Amaury’s wine program is perhaps one of the more unusual aspects of the restaurant. Because he encourages people to try fine dining, Rosado feels that wine programs are often intimidating and keep people away.
“Restaurants tend to mark up their wine so much that guests cannot afford to have a good bottle with an upscale meal. For example, my wife and I had dined at a famous chef’s restaurant in Las Vegas recently. My twelve course degustation was close to $400 and my wife’s six courses was $250. Now how can I afford to have a great bottle of wine with that meal? They had a bottle of Camus Special Select for $1200. I carry the same wine for $200 a bottle. I am not in the business of storing wines. I like to purchase great wines and rotate and sell my bottles at a reasonable mark up. I do not like to find bottles at restaurants that I can purchase for $20 and then find it on a menu for $70-80. I feel that is ridiculous.”
As he looks to his new goals of opening in a new space in Aurora, he recalls his best memories of the last seven years.
“I remember when my family and I decided to roast 24 turkeys for a homeless shelter in Aurora called Hessed House. The uplifting part for me was when we arrived at the shelter and saw a community of volunteers waiting to serve. To this day I get goose bumps when I think about it. The other great memory I have is when we received three stars from Chicago Tribune Dining Critic Phil Vettel. I know the next great memory will be when we move into a larger location.”
As to the future, Chef Amaury hopes to be recognized by the James Beard Foundation. He also is planning on writing a cookbook in the near future and fulfills his ultimate goal of being one of the best restaurants in the world.
“I love this business so much and I have always felt this restaurant was akin to the story of the Little Engine That Could,” he beams with the same passion as you taste in his food. Not to worry. No one will ever tell Chef Amaury Rosado he couldn’t.
