I recently had the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of famed local Seattle chef, Tom Douglas. Tom Douglas entered the Seattle food scene in 1984 with his flagship restaurant, Dahlia Lounge. He now owns and operates 13 restaurants, an event space, and a culinary school. And if you dare call yourself a "foodie" in Seattle, you have definitely frequented his restaurants. He's kind of a big deal.
So, when the opportunity to tour some of his restaurants and to learn more about the Tom Douglas empire presented itself, I jumped at the chance for the "behind the scenes" tour. Along with 20 of my students, my morning in the life of Tom Douglas began at Hot Stove Society, the cooking school owned and operated by Tom Douglas Restaurants. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of taking several cooking classes at Hot Stove, including Dumpling Throw Down, Homemade Pasta, Mastering Sauces, and Baking 101. Though I would consider myself a fairly experienced cook, the class is geared toward a spectrum of culinary skills, so that whether you consider yourself a talented chef or a novice in the kitchen, everyone will walk away with a useful tip, new technique, or recipe inspiration.
Hot Stove Society is located inside Hotel Andra. It is the nicest culinary school I have visited...and I have made my rounds. Clad with KitchenAid everything and Boos work tables, this kitchen is any cook's dream. Warm coffee and freshly made donuts from Dahlia bakery awaited our group, so we loaded up and gathered around the woodblock tables for story time as Janet, a chef from Hot Stove Society, Amy, Director of the Hot Stove Society, and Todd, Marketing Manager, each shared their stories of how they came to work at Tom Douglas.
After we finished a brief history and introductions at Hot Stove, we were led across the street by Madeline, Director of Marketing. Upon entering Dahlia Bakery, we were immediately enveloped in the most amazing aroma of freshly baked pastries and brewed coffee. The back of the house at Dahlia Bakery, is a surprisingly small space considering the number of baked goods produced there each week. Pastry Chefs Lacy and Kelly were busy making pastry dough for quiche when we arrived. Pausing their work to let us sample Peanut Butter Fancies, which are like a buckeye meets a layered bar of goodness, they shared how much they love their work, despite the early hours. One interesting tidbit I learned is that the famous Coconut Cream Pies (served at nearly all Tom Douglas restaurants) are actually all assembled in the Dahlia Bakery kitchen in little kits. The line cooks at each restaurant then learn how to put the pie together so they are topped with fresh whipped cream on location, rather than pre-assembled and transported.
Leaving the pastry chefs at Dahlia Bakery to prep for the upcoming Restaurant Week where their dessert inventory more than doubles, we snaked through a series of back hallways until we found ourselves around the Kitchen Table, the primo table at Serious Pie. Chef Lauren was getting set up for the day and informed us that within the hour there would be a line out the door and around the corner. If you haven't had the treat of eating at Serious Pie, it is worthwhile trip across the bridge, even if you are an Eastsider who eye-rolls at the thought of crossing 520. Serious Pie pizza dough takes three days to make and is baked in a 600-650 degree oven, slightly cooler than the 800 degree pizza ovens used for Napoleon-style pizza. The dough is chewy, but light. Lightly charred in spots at the edges, but not crunchy. It's the Goldilocks of pizza dough, like that perfect cookie that's crisp on the outside, but soft on the inside. One of Serious Pie's most well-known and perhaps daring pizzas is made with Penn Cove clams, pancetta tesa, and lemon thyme. It was fashioned after the clam chowder that's common to Seattle seafood institutions like Ivar's and Pike Place Chowder, and I hear it's not to be missed.
Leaving the warmth of the pizza oven behind, we headed down 4th Avenue and hung a right at Lenora. As we passed by The Cinerama, Madeline spoke about the many partnerships Tom Douglas creates with the local community. Each day, nearly 100 pretzels are ferried from Brave Horse to The Cinerama to be enjoyed by movie patrons. As we continued on, we arrived at our last destination, Assembly Hall. Located on the ground floor of the Via6 Building, Assembly Hall is like the food halls you find on the ground level of so many skyscrapers and business buildings in San Francisco, Boston, and New York. Assembly Hall features Tanakasan, a dumpling heaven, Gettin' Fresh, a freshly pressed juice bar, and Home Remedy, the upscale corner bodega that carries famous frozen Tom Douglas meals such as their chicken pot pies and Serious Pie pizza crusts.
As I ended the tour and boarded the bus with my students, I realized what a positive force folks like Tom Douglas are in our community. In the wake of big corporations turning the Seattle skyline into a painting littered with construction cranes, we are lucky to have someone who is as community focused as Tom Douglas in our midst. At each stop along the tour, the pastry chefs, line chefs, prep cooks, and marketing team all willingly gushed about how much they enjoy working at Tom Douglas Restaurants. And the sentiments were genuine. Serious Pie Chef Lauren said it best: "I like working at Tom Douglas because I stand behind the choices that Tom Douglas makes. I am obligated to help my staff be kind to one another, and to our guests, so that the restaurant is profitable. So that we can pay the staff well and give back to the community." I was taken by the pride each member of the Tom Douglas team openly expressed, and I know that when I eat a meal at a Tom Douglas restaurant (in my not-so-far-off future), I will feel good about supporting a business that not only takes care of its employees, but also the wider community. If that's not reason enough to grab a Dahlia Bakery bag of donuts and a Coconut Cream Pie, then I don't know what is!
Get Involved:
So. Many. Choices.
Peanut Butter Fancies.
Sunny yellow bistro chairs outside Dahlia Bakery.
Chef Janet and me. Hot Stove Society.
Plated donuts with berry jam.
Close up shot of the donut. They are shaken in bags to ensure that each mini donut is thoroughly coated in cinnamon sugary goodness.
Line cooks at Lola serving breakfast up hot.
Margherita pizza at Serious Pie.
Serious Pie boxes. Ready for pick up!
Stacked chopsticks rolled in napkins ready for the busy lunch crowd at Tanakasan.
Tanakasan.
Assembly Hall breakfast burrito bites.
Dumplings made fresh daily.
The burger at Assembly Hall. My students said it was awesome.
So, when the opportunity to tour some of his restaurants and to learn more about the Tom Douglas empire presented itself, I jumped at the chance for the "behind the scenes" tour. Along with 20 of my students, my morning in the life of Tom Douglas began at Hot Stove Society, the cooking school owned and operated by Tom Douglas Restaurants. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of taking several cooking classes at Hot Stove, including Dumpling Throw Down, Homemade Pasta, Mastering Sauces, and Baking 101. Though I would consider myself a fairly experienced cook, the class is geared toward a spectrum of culinary skills, so that whether you consider yourself a talented chef or a novice in the kitchen, everyone will walk away with a useful tip, new technique, or recipe inspiration.
Hot Stove Society is located inside Hotel Andra. It is the nicest culinary school I have visited...and I have made my rounds. Clad with KitchenAid everything and Boos work tables, this kitchen is any cook's dream. Warm coffee and freshly made donuts from Dahlia bakery awaited our group, so we loaded up and gathered around the woodblock tables for story time as Janet, a chef from Hot Stove Society, Amy, Director of the Hot Stove Society, and Todd, Marketing Manager, each shared their stories of how they came to work at Tom Douglas.
After we finished a brief history and introductions at Hot Stove, we were led across the street by Madeline, Director of Marketing. Upon entering Dahlia Bakery, we were immediately enveloped in the most amazing aroma of freshly baked pastries and brewed coffee. The back of the house at Dahlia Bakery, is a surprisingly small space considering the number of baked goods produced there each week. Pastry Chefs Lacy and Kelly were busy making pastry dough for quiche when we arrived. Pausing their work to let us sample Peanut Butter Fancies, which are like a buckeye meets a layered bar of goodness, they shared how much they love their work, despite the early hours. One interesting tidbit I learned is that the famous Coconut Cream Pies (served at nearly all Tom Douglas restaurants) are actually all assembled in the Dahlia Bakery kitchen in little kits. The line cooks at each restaurant then learn how to put the pie together so they are topped with fresh whipped cream on location, rather than pre-assembled and transported.
Leaving the pastry chefs at Dahlia Bakery to prep for the upcoming Restaurant Week where their dessert inventory more than doubles, we snaked through a series of back hallways until we found ourselves around the Kitchen Table, the primo table at Serious Pie. Chef Lauren was getting set up for the day and informed us that within the hour there would be a line out the door and around the corner. If you haven't had the treat of eating at Serious Pie, it is worthwhile trip across the bridge, even if you are an Eastsider who eye-rolls at the thought of crossing 520. Serious Pie pizza dough takes three days to make and is baked in a 600-650 degree oven, slightly cooler than the 800 degree pizza ovens used for Napoleon-style pizza. The dough is chewy, but light. Lightly charred in spots at the edges, but not crunchy. It's the Goldilocks of pizza dough, like that perfect cookie that's crisp on the outside, but soft on the inside. One of Serious Pie's most well-known and perhaps daring pizzas is made with Penn Cove clams, pancetta tesa, and lemon thyme. It was fashioned after the clam chowder that's common to Seattle seafood institutions like Ivar's and Pike Place Chowder, and I hear it's not to be missed.
Leaving the warmth of the pizza oven behind, we headed down 4th Avenue and hung a right at Lenora. As we passed by The Cinerama, Madeline spoke about the many partnerships Tom Douglas creates with the local community. Each day, nearly 100 pretzels are ferried from Brave Horse to The Cinerama to be enjoyed by movie patrons. As we continued on, we arrived at our last destination, Assembly Hall. Located on the ground floor of the Via6 Building, Assembly Hall is like the food halls you find on the ground level of so many skyscrapers and business buildings in San Francisco, Boston, and New York. Assembly Hall features Tanakasan, a dumpling heaven, Gettin' Fresh, a freshly pressed juice bar, and Home Remedy, the upscale corner bodega that carries famous frozen Tom Douglas meals such as their chicken pot pies and Serious Pie pizza crusts.
As I ended the tour and boarded the bus with my students, I realized what a positive force folks like Tom Douglas are in our community. In the wake of big corporations turning the Seattle skyline into a painting littered with construction cranes, we are lucky to have someone who is as community focused as Tom Douglas in our midst. At each stop along the tour, the pastry chefs, line chefs, prep cooks, and marketing team all willingly gushed about how much they enjoy working at Tom Douglas Restaurants. And the sentiments were genuine. Serious Pie Chef Lauren said it best: "I like working at Tom Douglas because I stand behind the choices that Tom Douglas makes. I am obligated to help my staff be kind to one another, and to our guests, so that the restaurant is profitable. So that we can pay the staff well and give back to the community." I was taken by the pride each member of the Tom Douglas team openly expressed, and I know that when I eat a meal at a Tom Douglas restaurant (in my not-so-far-off future), I will feel good about supporting a business that not only takes care of its employees, but also the wider community. If that's not reason enough to grab a Dahlia Bakery bag of donuts and a Coconut Cream Pie, then I don't know what is!
Get Involved:
- Love Serious Pie, but hate the commute? Learn how to replicate Serious Pie's pizza dough at home. Classes hosted every first Saturday of the month at the Virginia Street Serious Pie location. $50/person. Sign up here: Serious Pie Pizza Classes
- Old school radio meets new school cooking. In partnership with Kiro radio, every Tuesday Tom discusses the week's trending culinary topics with Radio personality Theirry. You can experience the show live. Tickets cost $15 and the word on the street is that pastries and coffee are served. Watch for upcoming shows here: Seattle Kitchen Radio Show
- Want Tom Douglas on the East Side? Go no further than Bellevue. Tom Douglas is partnering with Nordstrom to open Department Bento, a choose-your-own-adventure bento box restaurant in the Nordstrom Grill's old location in Bellevue Square. The restaurant will feature customizable protein, side, and carb boxes similar to the ones sold at Tanakasan which can be enjoyed dine-in or take-out style. For more information, follow Tom Douglas on social media. Department Bento is set to open in early June.
- Love to eat, but need to up your cooking skills game? Try a cooking class with Chef Bridget Charters. The tapas and potstickers classes look amazing. Sign up here: Hot Stove Society Classes
Reusable logo mugs at Dahlia Bakery.
Good smells waft from Dahlia's open door.
So. Many. Choices.
Peanut Butter Fancies.
Sunny yellow bistro chairs outside Dahlia Bakery.
Chef Janet and me. Hot Stove Society.
Plated donuts with berry jam.
Close up shot of the donut. They are shaken in bags to ensure that each mini donut is thoroughly coated in cinnamon sugary goodness.
Line cooks at Lola serving breakfast up hot.
Margherita pizza at Serious Pie.
Serious Pie boxes. Ready for pick up!
Stacked chopsticks rolled in napkins ready for the busy lunch crowd at Tanakasan.
Tanakasan.
Assembly Hall breakfast burrito bites.
Dumplings made fresh daily.
The burger at Assembly Hall. My students said it was awesome.
