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Tonight's special is ... Christopher Medved

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Contributed by: Steve Shultz/YourHub.com on 4/9/2008

Editor's note: Visit our Faces of Denver page, where YourHub.com staff and readers will introduce you to more people who make this part of the metro area what it is.

It's 4:30 p.m. April 8, and WaterCourse Foods kitchen manager Christopher Medved, 25, is preparing the evening's special -- crispy polenta portabella Napoleons.

"It's like a stack," he says.

After cutting a tray of polenta into four-ounce square portions, or "cakes," as he calls them, Medved goes through a checklist out loud.

"We've got the sauce, we've got the polenta, we've got the portabella caps," he says.

Next up, Medved checks on the special's appetizer companion, artichoke frittes. The weekly specials always come paired with a side dish; Medved says it makes your dining experience better.

"We have enough for four orders right now, but we're gonna sell a lot more," Medved says, looking at the tray of artichoke frittes. He says they'll sell at least a dozen orders tonight. "So let's make some more."

He cracks open a huge can of artichoke hearts and, one by one, drains them and stuffs them with a paste of pureed cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, fresh parsley and salt and pepper.

"It's pretty simple, pretty easy," Medved says. "But it's delicious. It goes along with what we like to do here."

If you live near uptown Denver, then no doubt you've seen the storefront, located at 837 E. 17th Ave. It's a well-known fact in the community that WaterCourse Foods has specialized in vegan and vegetarian cuisine for the past 10 years.

As kitchen manager, Medved is responsible for putting together the weekly specials, what he calls "comfort food" dishes. The idea, Medved explains, is to come up with dishes that are commonly made with meat products and present them without meat.

"I can do things like lasagna, baked ziti, enchiladas -- things that everyone's had, but make it better without meat," Medved explains. "How do you make food good without meat? Let's give it a shot. I think we do a damn fine job."

While not himself a vegetarian or vegan, Medved, who has worked at the restaurant for the past three years, said he does stay away from red meat. Interestingly enough, he used to work at a butcher shop.

"When I go out to eat, if there's something vegetarian on the menu, nine times out of 10 I'll order that," he said.

In addition to putting together the weekly specials, Medved is in charge of coming up with the weekend specials, which are a little more extravagant and come paired with a wine.

"I'll come up with an idea based on the wine that will pair up well with it," he says. "This is probably my favorite part of the job."

Beginning May 1, Medved will leave his position at WaterCourse and become executive chef at the establishment's sister restaurant, City O' City, located at WaterCourse's original location at 210 E. 13th Ave.

"Really, my goal is to one day make a name for myself (as a chef)," Medved said, adding that there are a lot of local chefs he looks up to. "Hopefully one day I can be as good as they are."

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