Nestled within the Texas Hill Nation, Lake Austin Spa is a real sanctuary for relaxation and renewal. Located within the midst of inexperienced, rolling hills, stunning lakes, and sweeping views, it’s the excellent escape, whether or not for a weekend or weeklong getaway. It has been acknowledged as one of many high vacation spot spas on the earth, and with its unique lakefront setting, cozy lodging, welcoming workers, and award-winning spa, it’s no surprise that it has a loyal and discerning clientele. A famend spa resort wouldn’t be full with out providing a formidable culinary expertise and Lake Austin Spa’s Govt Chef Stéphane Beaucamp has fairly the repertoire. The lakefront eating room, Aster Café, embraces a conscientious delicacies philosophy whereas offering a culinary expertise that merges French influences with native inspiration.

Whether or not grown on property within the natural backyard or sourced regionally, Chef Stéphane Beaucamp creates a rotating menu that simply tempts any palate.

When did your curiosity in meals and the culinary arts start?

Round 12 or 13 years previous. My mother, grandma, and pop are nice cooks and I used to be fortunate sufficient to be across the kitchen loads, since my mother didn’t imagine in shopping for snacks, my sister and I needed to discover a strategy to make sweets after faculty, so we shortly went via my mother’s previous cookbook that had lacking pages and notes on others and begin making conventional French desserts like crepes, iles flottante, crème caramel, gateau au yaourt. I noticed that it was enjoyable to make your desserts since you might all the time add issues to them or modifications elements. I had few nice ones and lots of failures that we ate anyway. My mother realized that I used to be enthusiastic about cooking however within the mid-’80s, being a chef wasn’t as cool as it’s now with all actuality reveals and magazines or motion pictures, so my mother despatched me to my uncle that owned a resort restaurant in Normandie to make me work in the course of the summer season together with his loopy chef and he or she additionally despatched me on the weekend in the course of the faculty week to be a dishwasher in a neighborhood restaurant to attempt to make me change my thoughts.

However each my uncle and the proprietor of the restaurant instructed her that I used to be an amazing employee and was studying shortly and appear keen about being within the kitchen, so my mother signed me up on the culinary faculty Belliard in Paris and despatched me for two.5 years as an apprentice of Grasp Chef Claude Barnier on the Lodge Plaza Athenee (Avenue Montaigne, Paris).

The place do you get inspiration in your menus?

Lake Austin Spa Resort is a implausible place to search out inspiration. Our backyard, the panorama, the character throughout us. At all times making an attempt to do a clear meals that compliments who we’re as a model.

How typically does the menu change?

We normally change our menu twice a yr, however we regularly do ongoing “refreshes” with one new merchandise right here and one other new merchandise there, this yr, in the course of the Covid shutdown, I re-conceptualized the whole factor.

What are a number of the challenges and advantages of working in a resort?

The problem is that our company are staying between 3 to 4 days and typically extra, so we have to preserve them enthusiastic about our menu, so that’s the reason now we have our each day dinner specials. The profit is that I’m pushing my staff and sous chef to be artistic and work with what our backyard affords, so with time every prepare dinner will get higher and higher for the good thing about our company.

How lengthy have you ever been with Lake Austin Spa and Resort?

I began at Lake Austin Spa Resort on March 11, 2011, so 10 years!

Is it a problem to make meals tasty and wholesome on the similar time?

Sure, it may be a problem for some dishes, when all are vegan or gluten-free and dairy-free, however the previous few years I’ve studied vegan meals and gluten-free meals and realized that you can combine wholesome and flavors with out utilizing butter or cream or cheese and belief me coming from a Frenchman it’s onerous to say, however we at the moment are in a spot the place every day we try new issues and studying new methods to do issues with out altering the flavors of our dishes.

Favourite meal out of your childhood?

I’ve many. However my grandma used to make a potato cake (diced sautéed potatoes, parsley, onion, garlic and folded with shredded Comte Cheese after which completed within the oven, so the cheese was melting and held all the things collectively and he or she was un-molding it like a cake and lower a slice of it, normally served with a steak) so good, my stomach is making sounds simply speaking about it, she was one of the best.

What’s your favourite delicacies to prepare dinner and why?

Mediterranean meals, due to all of the nation across the Mediterranean Sea. And all of the colourful elements of Moroccan delicacies, Lebanese, Greek, Italian, Spanish, and many others. All utilizing recent elements.

How do you are feeling about social media platforms like Instagram turning into important portals for meals inspiration?

Properly, I typically ship Instagram captures to my cooks, for plate presentation or inspiration in making the meal look extra like artwork. I’ve a younger prepare dinner that’s nice with flavors however not a lot with plating, so I continually ship him photos to have a look at. But in addition, I bear in mind seeing cooks place plates that have been stunning and my china provider telling me that the plates on his Instagram account will not be even on the menu as a result of the dish was too difficult to make. A lot of what folks see just isn’t even the true meals that’s being served at eating places. I prefer to put up the meals that we serve to our company.

What are probably the most outstanding ‘wholesome or clear consuming’ myths you want to dispel?

Pondering that natural meals has a greater dietary worth

Are there any cooks whom you admire or have been position fashions in your profession?

Chef Alain Passard, Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Ducasse, Michel Bras, Michel Guerard and Charlie Trotters

Any ingredient that you just simply would fairly not prepare dinner with?

Excessive Fructose corn syrup

The one kitchen software you can not stay with out.

A very good Swiss peeler