Two supermarket chains were among the most active recruiters at the Culinary Institute of America when Keoni Chang was a student there in the early ’90s. "At the time I thought, ‘I’m not going to cooking school to work at a supermarket,’" Chang recalls now.
Times change, and so did he.
After earning his degree from the Hyde Park, N.Y., institute, Chang interned at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, then spent a decade in mainland restaurants. In 2003 he moved back to Hawaii as chef at Ryan’s Grill, and a year later the job of corporate chef at Foodland Super Market came available.
Grocery stores, meanwhile, were evolving, offering lots more deli space in larger stores with a more gourmet look.
Chang and Foodland made a match that has just passed the 10-year mark.
"The supermarket is not just a place to get groceries, but a place to get good food just like restaurants," Chang says in defining the concept of a supermarket chef in the current environment. "Our jobs are to bring a culinary focus to the supermarket, not just a commodity one."
Perhaps as a mark of the growing influence of the position, a specialized cooking competition was born in 2012, when the Food Marketing Institute launched a national Supermarket Chef Showdown. Chang won the top prize with his preparation and presentation of a Deconstructed Ahi California Roll.
This year he was a finalist, appearing in a 24-chef cook-off in Chicago in June. He won one of five categories, family meals, for his Kogi Dogs With Kim Chee Slaw.
Although the contest involved making one dish, it was in some ways a microcosm of a supermarket chef’s responsibilities — sourcing products, developing ready-to-eat dishes, creating accessible recipes that help shoppers develop their own meals.
Among contest criteria, which included aroma and "chewability," was presentation. That hit home for Chang.
"I don’t know if people understand all the thinking we put into putting a product in a container," he said. Size and material have to be right to show off the dish without wasting space, as it has to fit in with all the other items in the cold case. "That’s valuable real estate, right?" And there’s cost — "container cost can throw off the cost of a product considerably," he said.
Chang started at Foodland running the delis and bakeries but now handles produce and floral, as well. He counts among his successes kim chee bars in a few newer stores; a California roll poke developed for the seafood counter; more prepared meats, all seasoned and ready to be cooked at home; the addition of produce from smaller "boutique" local farms; and hundreds of new deli offerings, many with local tastes in mind.
So, yes, you can still get fried chicken and potato salad — have to give customers what they want, Chang says — but you can also find kim chee pork, curry stew, salmon fillets with chilies.
His continual quest: "What are local people looking for that they can’t find?"
Chang’s winning recipe would be an ideal centerpiece for a Labor Day picnic. The hot dogs are glazed in a sweet-sour-soy mixture and topped with a kim chee-spiked slaw that would be great on its own if you’re not into hot dogs. In competition he used a gourmet sausage with jalapeno and cheese but says you could use any sausage. Given all the flavorings, a plain beef dog would work just fine.
KOGI DOGS WITH KIM CHEE SLAW
5 jumbo hot dogs
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon lime juice
5 hot dog buns
1 small ripe Haas avocado, cut into quarters, peeled and sliced thin
>> Slaw:
1-1/2 cups finely sliced won bok
2 tablespoons finely sliced red onion
1/2 cup kim chee, finely sliced
1 teaspoon kim chee juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon canola oil
2 tablespoons finely sliced scallions
Combine slaw ingredients, toss well and chill.
For dogs, heat a saute pan on medium-high heat. Add hot dogs and slowly cook 2 minutes to caramelize and heat through. Mix together soy sauce, sugar and lime juice, then add to pan. Allow to reduce and glaze hot dogs.
Serve hot dogs in buns topped with slaw and avocado slices. Serves 5.
Approximate nutritional analysis, per dog with slaw (based on 2-ounce jumbo beef hot dog): 400 calories, 25 g total fat, 9 g saturated fat, 40 mg cholesterol, 1,300 mg sodium, 31 g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 7 g sugar, 12 g protein
