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Little Washington, VA. How do you open a successful inn? “It was a folly. No one, including my family, was optimistic. Even we vowed that if we had not turned the corner after two years, we would give it up”. That’s how Patrick O’Connell, the premier innkeeper in America, describes the venture he started 27 years ago with his partner Reinhardt Lynch. It all began in Washington – not the nation’s capital but a remote hamlet in the mountains of Virginia. For $200 a month, Patrick and Reinhart rented half of an abandoned garage on a corner near the courthouse; there was nowhere to eat, not even a snack bar.

Patrick and Reinhardt brought with them one asset – a stellar reputation as caterers among local Virginians from the hunt country. Their customers followed them to the newly named Inn at Little Washington, where cooking pots hung from the ceiling and tables were furnished with paper napkins and stainless cutlery. Patrick’s penchant for grand décor was already in evidence at the opening, with a bright-red cookstove as serving table. Nor was the menu modest, ranging from grilled scampi, veal escalope with fresh asparagus, and an iced soufflé Grand Marnier or pear and almond tart, a bargain at $10 including tax.

After only two weeks came the lucky break – the restaurant critic from a newspaper in big city Washington, two hours’ away, was bowled over by Patrick’s cooking. As he left after a triumphant dinner he asked, “are you sure you are ready for this?” The following Sunday the news broke: “Once in a great while there comes along a restaurant that is so good you worry that it cannot survive.” Locals in Little Washington were goggle-eyed at the attention the new guys in town were attracting, and thus began a tense relationship that still endures. On the one hand there is respect for the achievements and the business created by the Inn. Yet there remains resentment at the bustle and change caused to a quiet county seat of less than 200 inhabitants.
That first summer, the crowds, and the work, were almost overwhelming. Patrick’s very personal culinary style took shape. Of necessity it involved local ingredients as D.C. was too far for daily deliveries (Reinhardt would make a bi-weekly run in a pickup truck). Simple dishes like the roast chicken that was an early signature dish morphed into recipes such as charcoal-grilled poussins marinated in blackberry vinegar and loin of lamb in a fragrant broth with gremolata.  But Patrick O’Connell understands that simplicity is the essence of great cuisine: the ability to highlight flavors and present foods with a twist of originality.

After the opening triumph of the Inn at Little Washington, it would be easy to say that the rest was history. However five years passed before Patrick and Reinhardt began to think of converting the derelict second story above the restaurant to create a hotel. At last detailed plans were made for eight guest rooms, each one crammed with the Victorian furniture and fabrics that have become the Inn’s hallmark. Then, two weeks before the opening, the bank cancelled a $1 million loan, saying “if only you were in a shopping mall.”  In one of the seesaw crises that seem to characterize the O’Connell/Lynch team, emergency finance had to be found. A hasty visit to D.C. unmasked a bank president who had sampled Patrick’s cooking, and a replacement loan was secured.

While Patrick is in charge of the kitchen, Reinhardt welcomes guests and oversees finances. He is a cautious manager. After five years of savings and hard work, the initial $50,000 had long been paid off and profits went into Little Washington real estate. “We’ve bought local property almost every year, for 20 out of our 27 years”, says Reinhart proudly, “we’ve always resisted partners. We started by borrowing to the hilt but now we finance from equity.” He doubts whether anyone could repeat this feat now. “Everyone wants success too quickly, it’s sad. No one is prepared to manage well, and wait….”

From the start, Patrick and Reinhardt have set the bar high. “We wanted to establish reference points and we took as our guiding light some of the legendary country inns of France.  In 1978, there was no business model here in the US for such an undertaking”.  The gamble has paid off. Following the late ‘80s expansion, the accolades began to pour in. In 1989, the Inn achieved the first, and only, perfect score for food in Zagat’s guide. Charlie Gibson on Good Morning America declared “Of all the meals I’ve had in my life, one stands out as the best ... at The Inn at Little Washington”. In 2001 O’Connell was named Chef of the Year by the James Beard Foundation.
In 1996, Patrick’s cookbook “The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook: A Consuming Passion” hit the best seller list. Now he says “American cuisine has come of age.” “Patrick O’Connell’s Refined American Cuisine” will be published this fall by Bulfinch (a division of Time/Warner) and in it he declares: “We are on a par with French haute cuisine, using American ingredients.” The evocative, detailed writing brings a breath of fresh air to the page. Recipes such as Oatmeal Soufflé and Pineapple Skillet Tarts (an echo of pineapple upside down cake), replicate traditional dishes with a new lightness for the home cook.

The partners’ most recent investment is an art gallery and museum-style shop in a restored tavern opposite the Inn. “Today you need another revenue source,” says Reinhardt. “It’s important to diversify. Innkeeping and running a restaurant are very different businesses. Next perhaps we’ll think of a spa.” “It never gets easier”, adds Patrick. “People come to us with impossible expectations, and we try to anticipate every one.”

For information, visit: www.theinnatlittlewashington.com

PATRICK O’CONNELL’S PINEAPPLE SKILLET TARTS

Makes 10 to 12 servings

“As a child I always loved my mother’s pineapple upside down cake”, says Patrick O’Connell. “But as a chef, I knew it needed a drastic makeover to take it into the next century.  Losing the maraschino cherry was a no-brainer.  Getting rid of the cake’s clunkiness was trickier.

I remembered a caramelized Alsatian apple crepe we used to serve, and tried substituting thinly sliced pineapple.  Its acidity made the dessert more refreshing, and surprisingly, all of the flavors I remembered from childhood were preserved in something light and delicate.

The crêpe is a six-inch disk with thin slices of pineapple laid in concentric circles and covered with an alluring golden glaze.  The caramelization created in the skillet tastes just like the gooey brown sugar topping on the American classic.

The beauty of the dish is that you are unaware of the crepe.  It is like a film holding it together.  People are sometimes afraid to make crêpes because they think they have to be paper-thin.  It’s not necessary for this dish – it will be equally delicious if they are more like pancakes.

Flipping them will take a little practice.  The trick is to jerk the pan forward with a quick flipping motion, then catch the crêpe as it lands upside down.  (People usually don’t thrust the pan forward with enough oomph.) If you’re worried about watching the first few fall on the floor, ask the dog to stand by when you practice, or put a plate over the pan, invert the pancake onto the plate, then return to the pan, pineapple side down.

It would seem like torture if you made the tarts while your guests were waiting, but there is really no point.  Just lay them on greased cookie sheets and warm them before serving.

To make the Crêpe Batter:

2 cups all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup sugar
3 eggs
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk, or as needed

Combine the flour, melted butter, sugar, eggs, and salt in a food processor or blender.  With the motor running, add enough milk (about 1 cup) to make a fluid batter.  The batter maybe covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

To cook the Skillet Tarts:

2 large ripe pineapples, peeled, cored and cut lengthwise into quarters
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus 3 tablespoons for greasing the pan
3/4 cup toasted, coarsely ground macadamia nuts
½ cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
½ cup 151-proof rum, for flaming the tarts (optional)

1. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Slice the pineapple quarters crosswise, 1/8 inch thick.
3. In a 7-inch nonstick pan over medium heat, melt ¼ teaspoon of the butter, spreading with a spatula.  Remove the pan.
4. With the pan off the heat, ladle about 3 tablespoons of batter into the pan and roll it around until the bottom of the pan is evenly coated with the batter.  Sprinkle the crêpe with 1 tablespoon of the macadamia nuts.
5. Return the pan to medium heat.  Just as the crêpe begins to set, but is still wet on top, remove the pan from heat and arrange pineapple slices in an overlapping circular pattern, completely covering the surface of the crêpe.  Use a skewer or fork to arrange any of the pineapple slices that fall out of place.  Shake the crêpe slightly to keep it from sticking to the pan.
6. Return the pan to heat and sprinkle the pineapple with 2 teaspoons of sugar and about ½ tablespoon of cold butter, cut into bits.  Use a rubber spatula to loosen the edge of the crêpe and check the underside.  When the bottom is golden brown, loosen the crêpe by running a rubber spatula around the edges and carefully flip the crêpe over in the pan.  Continue cooking until the sugar underneath turns a light caramel color.  Add 1 tablespoon of cream around the edges of the crêpe and tilt the pan so the cream blends with the sugar and runs under the crêpe.
7. Spray a flat metal surface, like the bottom of a cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Place the sprayed side over the tart and invert the pan to remove the tart.  Slide the tart onto the prepared cookie sheet.  Repeat the process, wiping the pan clean between tarts, to make 10 to 12.  The sheet of tarts may be covered and refrigerated up to 4 hours.

To serve and garnish:

Reheat the tarts in a 350 degree oven until hot, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to serving plates.  Pour the rum into a small heat-proof pitcher or gravy boat and set aflame.  Carefully spoon the burning rum over the tarts in a darkened dining room.  Serve with Coconut Ice Cream.

        

© 2004, Anne Willan. Distributed by Tribune Media Services International.

Anne Willan is the founder of the famous French cooking school, LaVarenne, and has also served as president of the International Association of Culinary Professionals. She is the author of over a dozen internationally published cookbooks, including her latest book, A Cook’s Book of Quick Fixes & Kitchen Tips ( John Wiley & Sons, September 2005).