After the “peace talks”
Taylor recalled them coming down Far Hills Avenue in a motorcade with a police escort.
“We served in the bistro and that door was kept shut,” Taylor said. “They ate in the private party room upstairs, but there was Secret Service all around, so nobody could get near where they were. Every stairwell, even back in the kitchen, had an agent at it.”
Prior to cooking, the Secret Service checked their IDs and completed background checks.
“They came into the kitchen and they had bomb sniffing dogs sniffing through everything and they were going through our locker room,” Taylor said.
When it was time to cook, Secret Service watched closely.
The menu that night included a pumpkin bisque served in a carved out squash bowl, lobster medallions and beef tournedos.
He’s not completely sure what they served for dessert, but thinks it might have been their notorious creme brulee.
“It was exciting,” Taylor said. “I was 25, so I understood it was a big deal. It’s kind of even really more exciting for me now that they’ve kind of come back to celebrate it here and to be a part of that or at least be close to it.”
30 years later
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accords this weekend in downtown Dayton.
Taylor will be cooking for the Swedish delegation, consisting of about 20 people.
“I gave them a list of items that we could do for a large number of people during service because we’re also going to be open to the public,” Taylor said.
They chose the pan-roasted halibut in heirloom tomato acqua pazza sauce over black pepper basil fettuccine and a puff pastry with wild mushrooms.
In addition, each delegate will receive a chocolate covered cherry from Esther Price Candies.
“They just wanted a piece of chocolate and we thought what a better way than to get some Esther Price,” Taylor said.
He admitted that he was expecting the delegation to choose a beef dish because that’s what they served in the 90s.
“I get to relive my youth,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t certain if anybody was going to eat here, but now we got at least the Swedish coming and maybe some more will come in for dinner.”
Meet the chef
Taylor, who now lives in Vandalia, grew up in North Dayton and graduated from Northridge High School in 1989.
The 54-year-old chef recalled always paying attention to the service and food when his family would go out to dinner.
“I remember being a little kid waking up early and trying to cook breakfast for my parents,” Taylor said. “I’d end up burning things and creating chaos.”
“They would leave and go off to do grocery shopping, and I would play restaurant,” Taylor said. “I’d serve the tables even though there was nobody there except maybe a teddy bear or something.”
By the time his parents came home, he had went through an entire dinner service at only 8 years old.
He thinks his passion for eating was ignited when he was a wrestler in high school.
“I cut weight all the time,” Taylor said.
Over 35 years in the restaurant industry
His first job was as a bag boy at Stump’s Grocery where there was a time when none of the cooks showed up.
“I was asked to go in there and cook. I had no idea what I was doing, but I went in like it was the greatest thing ever,” Taylor said. “That may have been my first actual real taste with cooking and service.”
Around 17 or 18, he started as a dishwasher at Bombay Bicycle Club.
“I’d watch the cooks, and I would just get a thrill out of watching them in the action and them throwing fiery skillets around and the fun they seemed to have,” Taylor said.
He worked his way into the kitchen and became a kitchen manager at 21 years old.
A few years later, he started in the kitchen at l’Auberge making salads.
l’Auberge was once the most highly credentialed restaurant in Ohio — holding a four-star rating from the Mobil Travel Guide for 19 years.
“I went in there thinking I was the big man on campus because I had been a sous chef at this place. I’ve been a kitchen manager,” Taylor said. “And then I ran into some really great chefs.”
During that time, he was taking culinary classes at Sinclair and reading books to learn as much as he could. He also spent time at the Oakwood Club learning how to cut steaks from former owner Lance Stewart.
Once he worked his way up to sous chef, he worked directly under executive chef Dieter Krug, who he described as his mentor.
“He just taught me how to work hard,” Taylor said. “He was like a 70-year-old man still in the kitchen cooking hard and here I am in my 50s, I still cook on the line. I still work hard. I learned that from him. You’re never too old.”
Taylor ended his career at l’Auberge at the executive sous chef.
He went on to working at country clubs and the Schuster Center before opening his own restaurant, Savona Restaurant and Wine Bar in Centerville in 2007.
“It’s a big thrill owning your own place. It’s a goal that a lot of chefs want to do and I’m glad I did it in my late 30s,” Taylor said. “It’s fun being your own boss, but it’s nice to let other people worry about paying you. Usually all I focused on was paying the bills and making sure the staff got paid.”
Before joining Table 33, Taylor was working as the food and beverage director at Wright State University’s Nutter Center.
He was originally planning to be a chef consultant at Table 33, but owner Charlie Carroll “talked me back into the game.”
Table 33 is open during NATO
Table 33 is open at 45 W. Fourth St. in the Dayton Arcade with normal operating hours during NATO. The restaurant is open 9 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.
For those that haven’t been to Table 33, Taylor recommends the half Amish chicken, summer crunch salad, wagyu steak tartare or the P.E.I mussels.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
All desserts are made in house including the cheesecake, seasonal creme brulee and flourless Valrhona chocolate torte.
Carroll said sales were down about 25% on Wednesday.
“It’s not as bad as we thought it could be,” Carroll said.
On Thursday night, the restaurant had 18 reservations cancel. Carroll said he does not know why they canceled, but fears people are being scared away from coming downtown.
“Fourth Street is the first street that’s not inside the security barrier,” Carroll said. “For us, we thought because I’m going to need to pay my people no matter what or else I lose them... some money, whether it’s 25% or 50% of what we were making,... is better than no money.”
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
Taylor said NATO being in town is a “big thing for Dayton.”
“People need to come down. We’re still here. We’re still going,” Taylor said. “They need to be close to something of this significance because this is probably never gonna happen again, at least in our lifetime.”
MORE DETAILS
For more information about Table 33, visit table33dayton.com or the restaurant’s Facebook or Instagram pages (@table33dayton).
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