From gourmet catering to Creole cooking and sushi, Shaker chefs do it all

1. From gourmet catering
to Creo le cooking
and sushi,
Shaker chefs do it all
By Felicity Hill
Winter is a season filled with friends, family, food and fun. From
Thanksgiving through Valentine's Day, whether you're celebrating with one
or one hundred, eating out or staying home, culinary delights are a key ingre-dient
of the festivities. And when the taste of turkey and other seasonal
staples starts to wear thin, three Shaker eateries-Matsu, Chez Mozell and
Faiimount Circle Gourmet-have just the antidote, offering flavorful alter-natives
that both treat the tastebuds and help harried hosts.
The Matsu Japanese Restaurant on Chagrin Boulevard near
Warrensville, wheri seafood is a mainstay of the menu, is a far cry from
midwestern winter fare. While Chef Scott Kim is from Korea, his culinary
background is in Japanese cooking, and this expertise has earned him seven-teen
years in the restaurant business. He laughs, noting that most Japanese
restaurants are Korean-owned and says the two cultures are actually very
alike. "7e use similar ingredients and have a similar concept in cooking and
etiquette. It's a very close culture despite the historical enmity. My father
almost speaks betterJapanese than he does Korean," he says.
Scoit moved frorrrKorea to Ohio seventeen years ago to attend Ashland
Universiry. He met his wife, Brenda, a native Ohioan, when they worked
together at a restaurant in Mansfield, and the trl/o now have a twenty-one-month-
old daughter. Brenda has worked in the business for sixteen years.
As well as doting on their first child, the couple also delights in Matsu, their
first restaurant.
The first thing the Kims did was completely redecorate the premises'
which had been a Chi.tese restaurant. "Scott had a decor in mind for years,"
Brenda says. "He wanted a clean-cut
sryle with no carpets and lovely
wooden floors. Behind the scenes
everything is fresh, clean and modern,
too. Not only the dining room, but
the kitchen is new, too-everything
we've touched." The menu comple-ments
the inviting decor, with fresh
seafood served in anaffay ofdishes
with special finishing touches.
"Our dishes are prepared fried,
stir-fried, grilled, oven-baked, sushi.
continued on page l4
Felicity Hill is the asistant editor
y' Shaker Magazine.
45h
Brenda and Scott Kim are co-owners of
Matsu Restaurant on Chagrin Boulevard.
1 2 Shaker Magazine ' November/December 2002

2. f, rhhes enses
A meal at Matsu might include a sushisam-ple
accompanied by Hiyashi Soba (buckwheat
noodles), a pot of Nabe Udon (seafood, veg-etables
and noodles in a broth) and sake.
Shaker Magazine. November/December 2002 13

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Our signature dishes are seafood, but we
also have steak, chicken, vegetable dishes
and tofu," Scott says. "We're very busy
after the holidays. People do like to get
away from the urkey."
Brenda says every week there is a set
menu with weekly features, plus a lunch
buffet on weekdays. The restaurant also
offers special appetizers and wines. The
sushi bar, as would be expected, is exten-sive,
but there are a lot ofalternatives to
suit everyone, from pork dumplings,
lobster salad and simmered lamb shank
(cooked in a clay pot) to tofu nakisoba
(a vegetarian noodle dish). Imported
")ur signature dishes are
seafood, but we also have
steak, chicken, vegetable
dtshes and tofn,"
says Matsu's Scott Kim.
Japanese desserts, dessert drinks and
coffee round off the meal.
As well as eating in, the Kims offer a
take-out service and also use a delivery
service, Cafe on the Go. Party trays are
also available. "Service is very important
to us," Scott says. "7e don't try too hard
to be something we're not. 7e are a hip
restaurant, but we aiso just want to be
part ofthe neighborhood. Everyone is
welcome." The "everyone" includes
children, for the restaurant also prepares
children's dishes, and high chairs are
available.
A different kind of cooking is avail-able
at Chez Mozell, a new restaurant on
Van Aken Boulevard occupying the for-mer
Geppetto's site. Described by owner
Mozell Devereaux as "a little bit of New
Orleans in Shaker Heights," the restau-rant
has both sugar and spice, with its
Creole and Cajun dishes and top-selling
cheesecakes.
Mozell says she puts the "Mozell
Mojo" (her special mix of spices) in ali
her dishes and everything is made from
scratch. As for her special blend, she
says, "We can pump up the heat, but
with softer dishes, we don't put as much
in."
It was her grandmothert cooking in
Louisiana that inspired Mozell's career
ambitions. "I was an only child, but had
lots of cousins. Our grandmother didnt
want us in her kitchen, so I hid in the

4. pantry and used to listen to her hum.
Eventually she let me out and taught me
how to cook. 7e would make all kinds
of things. Everyone knows how to make
crawfish pie in Louisiana, but mine was
extra-special. "
The specialty at Chez Mozell is
Creole cooking, although this chef will
try her hand at anything. "Creole is
softet fancier, has a French flair and is
At Chez Mozell, freshness is a
priority "lt hasn't been sitting
in a kettle all day We put
fresh seafood in your gumbo
while yorJ're waitrng.
It's worth the wait."
not quite as spicy as Cajun," she
explains. "Cajun cooking has more pot
food, such as gumbo and smothered
dishes. ife do both."
Mozell stresses that freshness is a
priority. "It hasni been sitting in a kettle
all day. 7e put fresh seafood in your
On the table at Chez Mozell are (clockwise from left) a seafood gumbo,
a slice of German chocolate cheesecake with a matching martini, a bucket
of crawfish, sides of Maw Maw Slaw and sweet potato and a plate of
Mozell-B-Que ribs.
gumbo while you're waiting. Itt worth
the wait."
As well as gumbo, other New
Orleans dishes on the menu include
buckets of crawfish, catfish or shrimp
or "7angs and Thangs" as appetizers,
chicken breast stuffed with Andouille
sausage (Mozell won a culinary school
prize with this recipe), jambalaya and
vegetable side dishes such as eggplant
steaks, whole roasted sweet potatoes,
Creolized grits, black-eyed peas, Real
Potato Salad and Maw Maw Slaw
(cabbage, greens and onions in a Creole
sauce). Sandwiches and burgers with
a Louisiana flair are also served.
The people who help Mozell put
her "Mojo" into everything are her son,
Cory, twenty-three, and daughter,
Jordana, eighteen. "Itt a family busi-ness,"
she says. "I love this business. I
love to cook. I love to create. I am very
happy with what I do. I did this for my
children-many people leave [their
children] things or dont give them any
Mozell Devereaux opened her Creole
restaurant last spring.
direction. I am teaching my children
entrepreneurship, that they can run a
business. 7e're always together."
The restaurant boasrirn expansive.
well-stocked bar, and manager Marvin
"BJ" Harris mixes martinis specially made
to match Mozellt cheesecakes.
"My cheesecakes are to die for; we
can't keep any in the case," she says. "I
Shaker Magazine' November/December 2002 15

5. sell twenty to thirty cheesecakes in a week'
Just cheesecakes." The blackberry cheesecake
is paired with a Noir et Blanc martini, the
lemon meringue cheesecake has a Lemon
Drop martini counterpart, and the German
chocolate cheesecake comes with a martini
known as the Chocolate Forepiay. "Just the
making of the martini is an experience," she
laughs. -
As well as the restaurant, which is both :
dine-in and carry-out, Mozell also owns
Madame Sucrer'ie Gourmet Catering, which
she began in 1994. Mozell says she specializes
in all types ofcooking and has catered for a lot
of Shaker residents, including the requisite
Thanksgiving menu.
"I'11 cook the turkey; I'11 cook anything,"
she says. "I don't want to be stereotyped into
one kind ofcooking. A good chefcan cook
phyllo pastry,
^ I'11 cook whatever a customer wants."
"nythittg.
Md just as important as the food, whether catering at her restaurant or
private ho-es, is getting to know her customers. "Most.of the people who come to Chez
Mozell are friends"or fr[nds of friends," she says. "People say you should expand and get
bigger, but I like to keep it small and intimate. Ve're very personal here. Ve shake every-_
..
bo"iys hand, and I try very hard to talk to all my guests. Youlan taste the love in my food."
For Sue Sherwin,
"
M.r... resident for fifteen years, her Fairmount Circle Gourmet
store is "the place to come to when you want something special'" And people. must be find-ing
it, for Sherwin says "business is ierrific. Since_ September I 1 , .we.have
really seen business
inir."r. as people are staying home more. Here they can buy crabcakes, lasagna and a ten-dollar
bonli of wine for take-out. .What the customer wanrs drives us."
For owner Sue Sherwin,
location is an imPortant
ingredient.
16 Shaker Magazine' November/December 2002

6. -
lll;t
",:,,,':l&ili,rf
l
tr::!i:t:i::.t:,,,,.i'
t{/hat the customer wan-ts, and what Fairmount Circle Gourmet provides,
are fresh chef-created dishes as well as desserts, pastries, cheeses, wines and fine sun-dries
for at-home dining plus catered menus for iarger gatherings. The store also does
a brisk lunchdme business in made-to-order panini and other sandwiches, fresh salads
and soups. And when customers want to give some of their favorite fare to a friend, a
Fairmount Circle Gourmet gift basket is just the ticket.
Dont have time to stuff mushrooms? The store publishes seasonal entertaining
guides and will help hosts and hostesses create entire menus or just add a few comple-mentary
creations to their own. Customers may order such delectable-sounding
Fresh foods and specialty
sundries entice shoppers at
Fairmount C ircle Gourmet.
dishes as Bingham Hill Cherry Fritters
and Japanese Shrimp Toasts with Lemon
Scented Passionfruit Glaze (from a hot
hors d'oeuvre menu) or Roasted X/hole
Bone Breast of Ti-rrkey with Vhite
Truffle Honey Glaze (From a winter
menu). Corporate catering, with items
such as sandwich boxes containing veggie
wraps or a turkey-Swiss pinwheei on sun-dried
tomato flatbread, is also available.
Typical fare at the take-out counter
includes entrees such as Ti.rscan pizza or
ravioli, Scotch salmon cakes with dill
cream sauce, beefbourguignon and
angelhair pasta nests and side dishes such
as golden beets with purple onion and
orange vinaigrette, herb scalloped pota-toes
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Shaker Magazine. November/December 2002 17

7. Fairmount Circle Gourmet Chef
Ned Grieg creates the daily dishes.
desserts, from cupcakes to glazed fruit
tarts, please those with a sweet tooth.
The creative menus are a result of
the talents of chef Ned Grieg and John
Saile, director of sales and marketing,
whom Sherwin brought on board as soon
as she secured a location for her brain-child.
Occupying the site of the former
Shaker Deli, which had been a long-time
tenant, she jumped at the chance when
the space became available. "I called the
landlord immediately. This is the best
location in Shaker Heights, which is key
for a brand new business."
Fairmount Circle Gourmet is the
perfect place to showcase Griegt talents.
A native of Maine, Grieg specializes in
seafood, as can be seen in his lobster
bisque. He previously was executive
chef and proprietor of Fabulous Feasts
Carering. after training at restauranrs in
Europe and New York, and has taught
at two cooking schools, including the
Loretta Paganini School of Cooking.
Saile has a long history of high-level
catering: He directed food service opera-tions
at the U. S. House of Represen-
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20 Shaker Magazine' November/December 2002
tatives in Vashington, D. C., and while
there, created menus for two Presidents
as well as for foreign dignitaries. Prior to
that, he founded Hecks Restaurants and
Catering in Cleveland, which he rejoined
after returning here in 1998.
The three, along with their staff of
nine, are enjoying their success and being
part of Fairmount Circle. "This is a
wonderful neighborhood communiry"
says Sherwin. "7e get to know people,
know their names, what they like to eat,
we hear about their kids. Theyve been
good to us."
Thether they crave soup or fish or
a spicy jambalaya, residents who want to
chase away the winter blues will find
much to tempt their palates right here in
Shaker Heights. &
tazzin' Up the Menu
Both Chez Mozell and Matsu
offer live entertainment. Chez
Mozell hosts a jazz band every
Thursday and Friday night,
while Matsu offers live music
every Wednesday, which is also
sake-tasting night (five differ-ent
cold sakes are offered).
Chez Mozell
20156 Van Aken Blvd.
751 -6900
Hours: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. M-Th;
11 a.m. - midnight F & Sat;
noon - 11 p.m. Sun.
Matsu Japanese Restaurant
20126 Chagrin Blvd.
7 67 -1111
Hours: 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m., 5 -
10 p.m. M-Th; 11:30 a.m. - 2
p.m., 5 - 11 p.m. F; 5 - 11 p.m.
Sat;4-9p.m.Sun.
www. M atsu Resta u r a nt. co m
Fairmount Circle Gourmet
2069 Fairmount Blvd.
371 -5058
Hours: B:30 a.m. -7 p.m. M-F;9
a.m. - 6 p.m. Sat. Closed Sun.
www. F a i r mo u ntCi r cl eG o u r m et. co m