Equinox pastry chef Tom Wellings brings edible art to diners Making the leap from life as bohemian artist to life as dazzling pastry chef, Tom Wellings joins the staff of Equinox to create some sweet dreams. And, no, he’s not the actor by the same name, in case you were wondering.
But he does occupy his own stage in the kitchen, where he assembles such end-of-the-meal temptations as a warm medjool date cake with toffee sauce, a brown butter ice cream sandwich with lemon froth and a Valrhona chocolate cream hazelnut cake. Considering his culinary training, it’s no mystery such sweets grace the restaurant’s menu and some consider his art-on-the-plate “avant-garde.”
An Albuquerque, N.M., native who grew up in Chicago, Wellings left his life as a struggling artist after reading Michael Ruhlman’s “Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection.”
“It was inspiring,” he said, “and it showed what cooking could be. After that, I became passionate, and told my parents that I wanted to cook for a living.”
His parents countered with good advice and an offer: Get a job first to see if you are serious, and we’ll pay for culinary school.
Accepting the challenge, Wellings got his first kitchen job at a local Olive Garden, but found everything was precooked. He then got a summer job on Cape Cod at a restaurant that bought fresh produce from local farmers.
“That was the first time I smelled fresh basil, and I asked the chef, ‘What is this?’ Once that happened, I knew I loved cooking,” he said.
If you go
Equinox Restaurant
818 Connecticut Ave. NW
202-331-8118
Hours: Lunch — 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Friday; Dinner –Ê5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. Friday to Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Sunday
Wellings went on to graduate from the New England Culinary Institute with a degree in culinary arts and interned at a restaurant in Maine, where the chef had worked formerly at the French Laundry in California and the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia.”We grew our own microgreens,” he said, “and we had farmers dinners. I hadn’t worked with pastries yet, but dessert ideas kept popping into my head.”
That prompted him to move to New York to attend the French Culinary Institute, where he had the good fortune to work with pastry genius Jacques Torres, who taught Wellings how to work with pastry, sugar and chocolate. During that time, Wellings also staged with two other pastry superstars: Patrick Coston, formerly of ILO at the Bryant Park Hotel, and later, Sam Mason at wd-50.
Eventually, Wellings moved to Virginia to be near his parents, and as fate intervened, he landed a job at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Tysons Corner in the pastry department. There he honed his French pastry skills, then he moved to Alexandria’s Restaurant Eve as its head pastry chef.
With another move back to the Ritz-Carlton in Tysons, Wellings headed the pastry department of the now-closed but prestigious Maestro, under famed executive chef Fabio Trabocchi, who made the restaurant a must-visit destination for the area’s gastronomes. When Trabocchi went to New York to open the now-closed Fiamma, Wellings went along as head pastry chef, returning to Washington a few months ago.
As for his creations as edible art, Wellings has forged a distinctive style. In the past, he borrowed from others until he found his own way. Now his servings are distinguished by minimal desserts without purposeless garnishes and driven by the seasons.
As he says, “The soul of food: using ingredients in season.”
Q&A with Chef Tom Wellings
What is your comfort food?
Pot roast. I can remember on winter nights eating it when the meat was falling apart. I don’t know the recipe, but just the feeling [of the meal]. That and apple cider doughnuts.
Which is your favorite restaurant?
In D.C., Sonoma. In New York, Blue Hill.
Which is your favorite cuisine?
Italian. That one I know.
What do you do in your leisure time?
Read and play with my dog. Also I draw and spend time with my wife.
What’s in your fridge?
Apple cider, milk, leftover rib roast, goat cheese, raw pork, red oak lettuce.
From the chef’s kitchen
Apple creme fraiche cake
Serves 6
Look for almond flour at well-stocked supermarkets or specialty stores.
2 1/2 cups almond flour
3 cups sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups whole eggs, lightly beaten (about 6 medium eggs)
1 cup egg yolks (about 10 eggs)
2 1/2 cups creme fraiche
3 Tbsp. butter
3 apples, cored, peeled and diced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch cake pan.
Combine the first three ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, combine the whole eggs, egg yolks and creme fraiche. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients and mix till smooth.
Heat the butter in a skillet and saute the diced apple until golden. Fold the sauteed apples into the batter and pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
