CHEFSMark GaierOwner/Chef>
Mark Gaier grew up in a big family near Dayton, Ohio. His mother, a homemaker, was a wonderful cook who inspired Mark to begin cooking and even baking bread by the time he was 14. Later as a young man working in publishing in Blue Hill, Maine, his favorite work was putting on the dinner parties for the staff and advertisers at the magazine. So he decided to go back to school and study culinary arts under Jean Wallach in Boston. Later he was given the opportunity to work at the Whistling Oyster under Michael Alien, who had been chef for Madeleine Kamman at her cooking school in Boston. Many of his basic skills as a chef were developed during this period. In the mid-1980s, feeling that he needed exposure to more innovative cooking. Mark went to San Francisco and joined the staff at Stars Restaurant under Jeremiah Tower, as chef tournant. According to Gaier, this was a fabulous experience "because the staff at Stars was so talented and because Jeremiah is such an accomplished chef." About Arrows, Mark says, "We started with one vision. The place needed lots of work. It was funky, with mismatched antique pressed-back chairs. Our plan had been to do a more casual brasserie, or bistro-style restaurant. But this setting has seemed to move us gradually toward a more elegant type of dining. It's as if we had to respond to the setting. It's so beautiful and romantic. We have constantly upgraded the restaurant, having chairs made by a local craftsman, replacing flatware with silver, glass with crystal, stoneware with china, and dozens of other changes and upgrades." As chefs, Gaier and his partner Frasier have changed, too. At first they brought a lot of California and Jeremiah Tower with them, but now they have grown into a style all their own. And the garden, as well as their world travels each winter when the restaurant is closed, have helped dictate how that style keeps changing and growing. |