Chef Spotlight: Aaron Fish, chef de cuisine, Eat Good Group

This occasional series helps us get to know local chefs.

We’ll learn about where they dine out and who or what inspired them in their culinary careers. Plus, they’ll share a recipe. Here’s a Q&A with Aaron Fish, 33, chef de cuisine Eat Good Group.

What’s your favorite dish to cook at home? Hands down it’s tacos. Homemade tortillas (flour or corn) with beer-braised cauliflower or slow-poached adobo chicken.

Where do you eat when you eat out? Syringa, Wisconsin Burger and Sante.

Who or what inspired you to become a chef, and how? The culture that surrounds our industry was the beginning. Looking up to the chefs I worked for and seeing their love for food was the catalyst. As I progressed, I began to understand my own love for all things food. I love creating balanced dishes and seeing the happiness it brings those who eat my food whether it’s my son or a guest in one of our restaurants.

What are your go-to ingredients? Chilies, harissa, tea and cilantro.

What was the first dish a customer ever sent back to you, and how did you handle it? As a chef it was a Caesar salad. The guest did not like my dressing. Everybody has a different idea of how things should taste; I was – and am – totally accepting of that. I went out to the table and talked with her about our other dressings and made her a new salad which she loved.

What’s a dish you’ve never made but would like to, and why? I’m lucky enough to work for a company that allows me to make almost anything I dream up. That being said I have always wanted to make a completely vegan crème brulee.

What dish or ingredient best represents you? Burritos. You can literally put anything in a burrito.

The Best Vegan Pancakes

From Aaron Fish, chef de cuisine, Eat Good Group

I came up with this recipe for my wife, Teddi. She had recently taken the vegan path, and I was really trying to come up with some delicious recipes for use at home. Pancakes are one of her favorite breakfast items, so I created a version just for her. They were so good I have continued to make and eat them throughout the years.

10 ounces all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 ounce sugar

1 tablespoon egg replacer powder (available at most natural markets)

2 cups soy “buttermilk” (1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar mixed with 2 cups soy milk, let sit for at least 5 minutes)

2 ounces vegan buttery spread, melted (such as Earth Balance)

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl. Take the soy “buttermilk” and mix with the melted buttery spread. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix well. (It should be thicker than a normal pancake batter.) Heat a griddle to 350-400 degrees. Melt some more buttery spread and set aside. (I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter onto a splash of butter spread on the griddle.) Cook until browned and flip. Serve with a quality maple syrup and fresh berries.

Eat Good Cafe is at 24001 E. Mission Ave. Suite 190 in Liberty Lake. Call (509) 210-0880.