Humans of Corner Kitchen is a continuing blog piece we run each month about a staff member in our restaurant.
My name is Kevin Westmoreland and I am the co-owner of Corner Kitchen and Chestnut.
How long have you worked for Corner Kitchen and Chestnut?
The whole time! Joe and I started Corner Kitchen in 2004 and Chestnut in 2012.
What’s the best meal you’ve had at Corner Kitchen?
That’s truly a tough one. I’ve had so many memorable meals at Corner Kitchen. At Chestnut, my wife and I had New Year’s Eve dinner one year and we had oysters with a sweet mignonette that we still talk about to this day. The rest of the meal was good, but the oyster dish was pretty transcendent.
What kitchen tool could you not live without?
I have a thin edged square spatula. It is perfect for omelets, which happen to be the one thing I cook regularly at home.
If you could only have one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I am moving more to vegetarianism, so this will seem odd. I could eat a 6 ounce filet mignon with mashed potatoes and roasted brussel sprouts every day. It is comforting and delicious.
What’s the worst meal you’ve ever had?
I am pretty forgiving in restaurants (my kids might disagree). I know things happen that might be out of someone’s control and I rarely have a bad time eating out. But I went to a restaurant where, after 55 minutes, after flagging down the host to find out where our server had actually gone, after having him walk by 10 feet away, look right at us and then go to check on the patio, we laid cash on the table for our beverages and left. We went to their sister restaurant a few months later and had the same server! They had a problem with the kitchen printer and our order never got sent in. So after 45 minutes in that restaurant we also left after paying for our drinks. Two visits to, in essence, the same restaurant, in different locations, with the same server and no food yet!
What’s your favorite food movie? (example, Julie and Julia)
It’s a tie between Chef and Ratatouille. Ratatouille does such a great job of showing what it’s like in the kitchen of a demanding chef at a restaurant trying to do everything right. But that Pork Cubano scene in Chef – oh my. I want one now.
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you recently?
It’s silly. My son and I can bend our thumbs back farther than my wife and daughter. On our first day on vacation, we were bragging about it and showing them how our thumbs curve beautifully back toward our arms, very dramatically. The next day, my left thumb was locked and very painful. I literally couldn’t even button my shirt with that hand. I had apparently caused swelling in the tendon sheath on that thumb. It’s now 2 months later and it’s just now getting better. There is a lesson there about pride going before a fall or something like that.
What’s the last thing you watched on TV and why did you choose to watch it?
I watched Stripes on Netflix yesterday. It was a favorite while in college. It was funny, but does not hold up as well as I remembered. Bill Murray is still a comic genius though.
How do you spend your time outside of work?
I love to travel with my wife Amy. Our kids love to do that too, so when the timing works out we all go places together.
Anything else you’d like to share about you?
I am an environmentalist at heart. That will be important in the next phase of my life. And I love Liverpool Football Club. YNWA!
