Q & A with Chef Eric Ziebold

In the Q&A below, Ziebold discusses his appreciation for city life, creating an emotional attachment with the dining experience and managing diners’ expectations. Then check out Ziebold's recipes for Meyer Lemon Souffle, Braised Shoat and Shaved Sashimi of Geoduck Clam.

When did you find your passion for cooking?

I’ve always been into food, but there were really two defining things that set me on my culinary path. I wrestled in high school and had to continually cut weight—I basically starved myself several months out of the year to wrestle in the lower weight class. During this time, many of us on the wrestling team would spend time in the library looking at food magazines and choosing what we were going to eat when the wrestling season ended, which is how I first became involved with food. I also got a job at a great restaurant in high school, which really got me interested in the culinary world.

What is your approach to food or your food and dining philosophy?

Satiety. The idea that the dining experience should not just be physical, it should be emotional. It’s not just about getting something to eat or something that just tastes good; I want to evoke emotion. For example, we offer our patrons hot Parkerhouse-style rolls that are baked fresh in the restaurant eight orders at a time. It’s not an innovative idea, but growing up, baked-to-order rolls was something my family would have only on special occasions. The smell of fresh baked bread, the feel—it’s an emotional attachment. It’s warm and comforting.

What brought you back to D.C. to open your restaurant?

I enjoyed California but missed living in a city. There are a lot of cultural aspects I love about D.C., such as its diversity. For example, when I opened CityZen, we had about 30 employees, and there were 13 different nationalities—Malaysian, Ethiopian, Brazilian, etc. D.C. is also very high energy. At times, it is the epicenter of universe—think of the inauguration in 2008, the city was crazed. But walk around D.C. on a Sunday in August, it’s a sleepy city. Living here, I have the best of both worlds.

How does the dining scene differ between D.C. and Napa?

Napa has two distinct groups: locals, who are loyal, and tourists—there is insane number of tourists each year. D.C. does not have nearly the amount of tourists per year that Napa does. Additionally, a large percentage of the tourists in D.C. are school-age children. Napa is the countryside, so the food is light, bright, fresh and often with a Mediterranean feel. There is no nightlife, so consumers have strong dining expectations—long, leisurely dinners. Conversely, D.C. has nightlife—people come to dinner and are often going to places such as the Kennedy Center afterward; therefore, dinners are not as long. The restaurant scene is more competitive than Napa, so the food and experience has to be kept fresh from an offering perspective.

What inspires your cooking and recipes?

I’m ingredient-driven and focus heavily on what is in season. I travel a lot and take inspiration from there as well. For instance, there was a Japanese chef who had never heard of a crab cake; he thought it was a real cake. We decided to create a crab cake that looks like a real cake. The result was a crab cake with sunchoke frosting and toasted kasha sprinkled with chopped sunchokes and chives that looks like a real cake.

I do not believe in shock-factor food, that is, 20 foods on one plate. I like cooking with foods that people know, recognize and understand, but interpreting them differently.

CityZen offers one three-course and two six-course chef's tasting menus, one of which is vegetarian, but not an à la carte menu. What is your preference toward set courses?

Having set courses enables me to manage diners’ expectations. With set courses, the menu can be curtailed and the portion sizes can be structured appropriately to create a better offering. Some customers do not like courses and just want an entrée, and then you have to worry about whether or not there is too much food or not enough. If a customer leaves a restaurant hungry, they’re not returning.

Do you have a favorite ingredient?

I tend to always have shoat on the menu. Shoat is tender like suckling pig, but it can be broken down. More can be done with it.

What is the one food you think everyone should try in their lifetime?

Veal liver sashimi. Liver was the one food I hated as a child, but veal liver sashimi has such a different flavoring and texture—it’s wonderful.

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