DUFFY BRINGS HIS CULINARY CRAFTINESS TO JRMC

By Judy Normand/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

Joe Duffy is a 1997 graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America at New York and knows good food when he tastes it, having come by his culinary curiosity naturally — his mother is Italian and his 96-year-old grandmother is still whipping up delicious meals. However, he’s not above asking others for a little advice.

“One thing I’ve found here is that Southern women know how to cook. Some have been here for years and I often ask them what will work,” Duffy said, referring to the large “fantastic” staff responsible for turning out food for the masses of patients, doctors, nurses and the hundreds of other employees and visitors at Jefferson Regional Medical Center each day.

Duffy is a northerner — from Poughkeepsie, N.Y. — but came south to Pine Bluff via Pennsylvania, Arizona, Florida and Dumas to work as JRMC’s third bona fide chef and its first CIA graduate. And yes, he prefers “chef” — not “cook,” Duffy said, grinning. But the title is something earned through experience.

“When you graduate from the Culinary Institute, you’re not automatically a chef,” Duffy said. “Even when you begin work in the best restaurants, you start at the bottom ... maybe on the salad bar.”

After graduating from the CIA, Duffy officially began his career as a pastry chef in Pennsylvania before a friend beckoned and he traveled west, becoming sous-chef (sous-chef de cuisine — under-chef of the kitchen) for six years at a hotel at the Grand Canyon in Arizona, where he met his wife. The couple are no longer married, but Duffy, 37, is the proud papa to 3-year-old twins, Asher and Fallon.

Leaving Arizona, he moved with his family to Dumas, his wife’s hometown, where he worked for a time as chef at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and at Dumas’ Delta Memorial Hospital. The Duffys then traveled to Florida, where he was hired as chef at a resort. They expected to stay in Florida, he said, but fate intervened and the family moved back to Dumas to be near in-laws. He became concerned that he’d find no further outlet for his skills in rural Arkansas.

“Then, on the Internet, I noticed a position open for a chef in Southeast Arkansas. I thought, ‘great!’ I was expecting to have to work in an auto parts store in Dumas,” he quipped.

He eventually went through a two-week interview process at JRMC, which is normal, he said, in larger areas. He was hired on Sept. 2 and was promptly shipped off to a South Carolina corporate training center. He’s now back on the job at JRMC.

Duffy’s boss is Brent “Bundy” Krakau, general manager of nutrition services at JRMC. He explained that he and Duffy are actually employees of Sodexo, a worldwide integrated food and facilities management company for the hospital since June 2002.

“It was tough getting someone from New York to come to Pine Bluff,” Krakau said, “but he’s here and I’ve been really impressed with Joe. He’s very innovative and we’re able to take his knowledge and improve our services, especially for the patients.”

Krakau said he recently sent Duffy to Jackson, Tenn. and the Madison Jackson Hospital Foundation Dinner — a 12-star event for all North American chefs. “With his background, we sent Joe to participate in this special event. He’s actually cooking the dinner,” Krakau said.

Duffy said JRMC’s patient menus have been a priority.

“The dietitians have to approve the menus, of course, but we’ve gone from pre-made food to food made in-house,” he said.

One of the things he frequently asks his staff, Duffy said, is how to make the traditional “southern comfort” foods like macaroni and cheese and stewed tomatoes more appealing — maybe with a little “green” on the plate or a different colored sauce. Presentation is very important, he said, and if a menu item is just “tweaked” a little, it can make all the difference.

The “basics” of cooking are simple and have been well-learned, but JRMC’s new chef is always looking to “take it up a notch or two.” One of the best things about his new position, Duffy said, is being able to write menus for the catering department at the hospital where “anything goes.” Staff physicians and visiting doctors, board members, educational classes and various other departments at JRMC are the beneficiaries of Duffy’s creativity.

“It’s really great, because I can incorporate new and interesting menus and serve special dishes,” he said. “This particular aspect makes my job easier and fun.”

A staff member summed up Duffy’s abilities by saying, “He just keeps wowing us, every day.”

A special treat for new parents has become a tradition at JRMC under Sodexo’s management, Duffy said. Each birth signals a special rib-eye steak dinner for two, a great salad and cheesecake served on real china. The parents may also enjoy a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne for a toast to the newborn and even get bubble-gum cigars wrapped up for the “girl” or “boy.”

When planning menus, Duffy said availability of food items can sometimes be a problem in this area.

“It’s hard not having access to specialty foods, so I take trips to Little Rock and Hot Springs and stock up at the specialty gourmet shops there,” he said.

He does eat his own cooking, he said, but the best meals are ones he doesn’t have to cook himself. He admitted to not minding slipping a frozen pizza into the oven now and then. “As long as I can put some of my own stuff on top,” and said southern desserts were some of his favorite foods.

Although every day is a learning experience, Duffy said his two-plus years of training at the Culinary Institute of America was invaluable.

“I looked around a lot at other schools, but this one was the best. It was also one of the longest and most expensive, but we were taught by all these old European chefs and I was constantly surprised by the things I learned — everything from gastronomy to the art of food. It’s not easy; you have to love it, and I do,” Duffy said.

The bottom line, according to the chef, is, “If I wouldn’t serve the food to my mom, I wouldn’t send it out. You have to have respect for the food.”