Chef William McCormick of Crystal Bridges Eleven restaurant does not let the moss grow on his menu. He's constantly looking for ways to not only improve the restaurant's offerings but also have them evolve with the seasons of the year. He is additionally known for designing his culinary creations around the current exhibits running at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. We caught up with Chef William who took a break from his busy day to talk about his latest menu.
"We have two great new exhibits here at Crystal bridges," Chef William began. "We have Crystals In Art which is a unique exhibit that explores crystals and their uses going back thousands of years on up to current day, and the Kusama Infinity Room."
Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirrored Room - My Heart is Dancing into the Universe (2018) is now on view permanently at Crystal Bridges. The room itself is small and filled with mirrors and paper lanterns that have dots that change color. This effect makes it appear like the dots expand forever into the universe.
"I was inspired by the Infinity Room to create a modern, molecular menu to help us think about food in a different way," Chef William said. "I wanted to ask the question: 'what is that next evolution of what we think about cuisine?' and examine how that definition can translated in different areas of our menu items like changing textures within the dish. Another way to put it would be: we wanted to create food with a surprise!"
An example of one of these 'surprise' menu items? "We took our cheesy potatoes that are cooked three times and elevated it to another level by taking a whipped cream siphon and filling it with a buttermilk and Gruyere cheese fondue," Chef William explained. "We aerate it so you get this really unique texture of this cheesy sauce that is light and fluffy. We then took it a step further by doing a Brule with it on top to add a crunchy cover." He calls it Crispy Smashed Potatoes with Buttermilk Gruyere Fondue. "I do a lot of research when it comes to the museum and the art exhibits and I always think about what the different inspirations are for the art and how can I fold that into the dishes I am creating for Eleven," he continued. "I try to think of how we can take something that is familiar and make it into something more creative and special."
In addition to the 'surprise' dishes, Eleven recently rolled out their new fall menu that includes a lot of their favorites. All of them celebrate the delicious flavors associated with this time of year. One of their fall selections is Roasted Ricotta Dumplings. Chef William takes some ricotta mixed with parmesan and lets it sit in semolina to create what's called in Italian 'Gnudi' (Pronounced nudie). It's called that because it's a 'naked' dumpling, kind of like a free-form ravioli. It's served with a beautiful brown butter, lemon, mushroom and fried sage sauce. "So you have the seasons changing, the leaves are falling and there's a little chill in the air," Chef William explained. "You have that fireplace smell in the air that was really comforting and homey for me growing up in Fayetteville. And I tried to recreate that warm, comforting feeling with all of our fall menu items."
Another one of his inventive menu items is a classic favorite with a distinctly fall twist. "One very popular dish is a play we do on guacamole," Chef William said. "We take butternut squash and we treat it like you would avocado in the summer. We add lime, sea salt, cilantro, onions and mash it all together. It eats and tastes almost just like regular guacamole only we are using locally grown seasonal squash. We serve it up with our own house made chips, it's really fun."
Chef William is a seventh generation Arkansan. His ancestors emigrated from Ireland in 1851 and were homesteaders not far from Fayetteville. His family still owns some of the original homestead property. One of his great grandfathers was on the board that wrote the Alma Mater for the University of Arkansas. McCormick has a rich family history in Northwest Arkansas. For him, that history is not just a collection of anecdotes, but essential building blocks to the foundation of his career as a chef. "My relation to the land and this part of the country in particular, is reflected in my approach to food," Chef William said. "I always try to use local products that are in season."
Another new exhibit at Crystal Bridges is North Forest Lights that runs through February 16. North Forest Lights is an artistic light and sound experience in the middle of the North Forest unlike anything Crystal Bridges has ever presented before. Five distinct installations bring the soul of the forest to life with light, sound, and sensory effects in a captivating, family-friendly experience. Crystal Bridges partnered with Montreal-based multimedia and entertainment studio Moment Factory to bring this concept to life. Each encounter that visitors experience on their walk through the Ozark woods translates nature's secret music and hidden communication into a symphony of light and sound. North Forest Lights invites people to reconnect with nature and art while helping them to feel part of it. During the experience, guests are also welcome to enjoy The Village, a communal campfire area offering warm beverages, scrumptious snacks, and merchandise. They are welcome to warm themselves by the fire with hot cocoa or coffee and enjoy the magic of the forest at night. Near the Memory of Water installation, guests can also snap a North Forest Lights photo in the designated photo station.
Chef William has the Eleven food truck in the middle of the forest near the campfire and, of course, he put his imagination to work on the menu to have it fold into the fun, creative experience of the exhibit.
"We kept it in a festive, holiday spirit with hot dogs, beignets and, my favorite, roasted Arkansas pecans," said Chef William. "And then we have spiked hot chocolate and spiked hot coffee. North Forest Lights is a fun little adventure that takes about an hour and a half to walk through. Our tastes and smells are a great compliment to the spectacular lights and sounds of the exhibit."
The Crystal Bridges restaurant, Eleven, at is located on a bridge overlooking the ponds with views of the beautiful Ozark landscape. Eleven is open for lunch Monday, Wednesday- Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner Wednesday- Friday, 5 to 9 p.m.; and brunch on Sunday, 11 a.m.- 2:30 p.m.
Looking for a place to gather and celebrate the season with your friends or colleagues? Crystal Bridges has unique winter party packages to help you celebrate with American art and one-of-a-kind culinary offerings.
Call 479-418-5700 for more information and reservations.
NAN Dining Guide Spotlight on 11/17/2019