Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/237615
RISING STAR OF MIXOLOGY . . . AND COOKING Chris Amirault As Chris Amirault, of the Eveleigh in West Hollywood, fries up homemade scotch-and-garlic bacon in his apartment, he explains, "I've always had this extreme appetite and I use it to learn. I travel by 'tasting' a culture. Plus, in a lot of cultures, their pride and joy is their spirit—so I'm learning to combine those two things, as well." Amirault shakes the skillet cooking the vermouth Brussels sprouts, leans over to smell them and explains, "Cooking was huge in my family. My mom would bake, my dad was in charge of the grill and my grandmother . . . she is 100% Mongolian born and raised in Jamaica, so she was just this great influence of experimentation and fusion." After moving to L.A. to pursue acting, Amirault picked up bartending a little over a year ago and didn't waste any time. "It just always how I've been. Once I become passionate about something, I just really dive in and it takes over. Learning flavor profiles, how to complement different spirits and how to balance—it all fascinates me and the more I learn, the more I want to learn." Chris Amirault sprinkles a little bit of sugar on top of his Jewish Rye French Toast. It's not that innocent though—there is rum mixed into the syrup! So how did Chris's education behind the bar change his skills in the kitchen? "Learning flavor profiles helped me identify flavors in foods. As I kept learning, I kept thinking, 'We utilize wine in food all the time, but why don't we see more spirits used in the cooking process.' So I started experimenting." "I've come to realize that they completely inspire each other," Chris explains. "I'll absolutely be inspired by a dish at a restaurant for a cocktail, but I'll also be inspired by a cocktail to change up some flavors in a dish. In my opinion, with the talent you see in L.A., it's silly to not look around and gain ideas from other people's creativity." At the Covenant House California Competition Placing second in the Covenant House California Cocktail Competition must have been pretty exciting for this Rising Star. What was going through Chris Amirault's head that night? "It was crazy and really intense. I was just happy to be there and competing against all of these great mixologists. " 94 / the tasting panel / january 2014 TP0114_66-108.indd 94 12/19/13 9:48 PM