Epicurean adventure awaits

New and different treats that must be tasted to be believed

Robin Tucker

There’s a new chef in town who is quietly treating patrons of HK’s Restaurant at the Lodge of the Four Seasons to new and exciting epicurean adventures. Enticing items found on Chef Joe Elliott’s new menu include tuna crudo with black olive-pecorino emulsion, green sorrel and candied kumquat; asparagus puree and fennel; truffle potato risotto and for dessert, Tahitian vanilla bean crème brûlée with biscotti. Is your mouth watering yet? Read on.
Elliott’s menu runs the gamut from such delicacies as homemade black truffle salami that he makes himself to fresh scallops flown in from Rhode Island. These seafood delights are served with a side of Granny Smith apple hash and topped with American paddlefish roe as a garnish. Elliott was excited to find that the finest paddlefish roe in America could be found right here in Lake of the Ozarks. Every year during the early spring season, local fishermen snag paddlefish just below Bagnell Dam. It is a real taste treat not to be missed.

Crab cakes are an all time favorite
Throughout his culinary career, Elliott’s most frequent request has been for crab cakes. Lake of the Ozarks diners are no different — they have also fallen in love with the cakes. He brings the recipe straight from the Chesapeake Bay. There are none better.
Another surprisingly frequent request has been for a vegetarian treat he offers — cauliflower gratinée — a dish baked with fresh cauliflower, cream, cheese and topped with pine nuts. “People really seem to love it,” he says.
Elliott, 35, who has only been on the local scene for a couple of months, says he has found a number of fine chefs and restaurants in the area, but is carving out a niche for himself with new and different types of food. He is all about maintaining a “sustainable” restaurant with most of his ingredients coming fresh from local farmers and dairies.

Homemade cured meats a special treat
Having mastered characuteríe, the art of curing meats, he is delighting everyone with his homemade black truffle salami and pâtés. Additionally, he also grows his own herbs in a beautiful Japanese garden on the Four Seasons’ grounds.

As a boy, he wanted to be a ‘cookie baker’
Elliott began planning his culinary career when he was just a small boy, watching his mother make wedding cakes for customers. At that time his goal was to become a “cookie baker” but that dream soon evolved into a career as a chef. He studied at the Pennsylvania Culinary School in Pittsburgh and went on to win honors such as being named Iron Chef by the Ohio Department of Agriculture and being invited to cook at the famed James Beard House in New York City.
When asked what assets a good chef has, he replies that you really have to love your work and never, ever accept second best in anything. It is a high-stress job, he admits, but Elliott says he gets such a rush when he prepares a new dish or plans a favorite menu that it is entirely worth it. He obviously loves what he does and his customers benefit.
Elliott is not only the executive chef but is also the director of food and beverage for the Lodge. “It is a lot of work,” he says, “but I like being responsible for the vision to create a world-class food and beverage experience.”

HK’s Restaurant is located at the Lodge of the Four Seasons just off Horseshoe Bend in Four Seasons. Phone number for reservations is 573-365-3000.