Blue Canoe cooks push creativity with specials
TUPELO – When Adam Morgan was looking for somebody to run the kitchen at the Blue Canoe, he was looking for creative talent that could make food that was both good looking and good tasting.
Enter Andrew Christian, who came aboard about nine years ago as a line cook and slowly made his way up the ladder. Then came Alex Collins, who had experience at several venues including the Stables, the Tupelo Country Club and Park Heights.
“Kind of two different tales on how they got here ... both are super dependable, and they always show up,” Morgan said.
To be sure, the Blue Canoe Burger, the pork and greens, the fried black-eyed peas, the crack dip fries and the Connie’s blueberry donut bread pudding are among the most popular regular menu items, but the specials that are coming from the kitchen are quite eclectic and delicious.
Some specials during the past few weeks include:
* Pad kra pao — ground pork, green beans, Thai basil, Thai chili paste and seasonings, crispy edge egg
* Hawaiian fried chicken sandwich — grilled pineapple, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon, teriyaki drizzle
* Pesto gnocchi with grilled chicken
* Philly cheesesteak tortellini pasta — thinly sliced beef, bell peppers, onions, garlic, Parmesan, provolone, five- cheese tortellini
* Crawfish voodoo balls with Creole Remoulade — crawfish tails, white rice, bell peppers, onions, mozzarella cheese, coated in Zapp’s Voodoo chips and fried
* Birria grilled cheese
* Sriracha honey Buffalo chicken dip melt - Buffalo chicken dip, fried jalapenos, sriracha honey, cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, crumbled blue cheese)
* Crab Cake BLT - brioche bun, arugula, fried green tomato, bacon, Maryland style crab cake, Old Bay remoulade
Christian and Collins split up their duties during the week, but they do collaborate.
So, what is their inspiration for cooking?
“Just from something you see, learning from other people’s dishes, and then learning to do your own and making up something in your head and putting it down on paper,” Christian said. “Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.”
Christian’s grandmother was a significant influence, and she allowed him to watch as she cooked. Of course, she wrote none of her recipes down, so he had to remember as much as he could.
“She made the best chicken and dumplings, and I’ve been trying to recreate them ever since, but I still can’t make it as good as she can,” he said. “So, I think she probably influenced me the most fun wanting to learn to cook.”
Collins drew inspiration from the family business — his mother owned a cafe in the Auburn community.
“I grew up watching her and kind of fell in love with the pressure, the heat and the flames,” he said. He went to work with Buck Walden at the Rib Cage and fell in love with the camaraderie that developed in the kitchen.
Instead of watching cartoons, Collins grew up watching the likes of Emeril Lagasse, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, Gordon Ramsay, Marco Pierre White and others. They provided his inspiration at his earlier jobs.
“As I shifted from dive bar to fine dining, and going to places like Park Heights and the country club to coming Blue Canoe, I’ve wanted to make pretty bar food in a sense,” he said. “That’s usually my goal.”
Both chefs plan to work at the Blue Canoe for the foreseeable future, but eventually they’d like to strike out on their own, testing the waters of food and entrepreneurship.
For Christian, it could be a food truck and/or a catering business.
“I’d probably do something for breakfast and lunch would be theme,” he said. “I really like cooking breakfast food, and I feel like I’m pretty good at it.”
Collins has thought about opening a restaurant but is leaning toward becoming a private chef and caterer one day.
“A food truck would be awesome too,” he said. “I enjoy New Orleans cuisine, creole cuisine, anything fusion. I did a collard green fried rice, and it was something different. That’s what I’m going for.”
As for what dishes Morgan wants from Christian and Collins, he made the rules fairly simple for them.
“There were a few loose parameters, but by and large, as far as specials, they can be as creative as they want to,” he said. “I like that about the job, just from afar. If you have a passion for cooking, and you’re coming in and have the ability to do stuff you want to do — if you’re a cook, you’re going to enjoy that and do something different and let the light shine on you and not just pump out the menu.”
