He grew fast, and in two months had risen to sous chef under the direction of Alsatian chef Pierre Dupont. When Dupont left for Thailand three years ago this past fall, Davis was promoted to chef. Alan McKenzie Davis' osso buco, foreground, mushroom strudel, left, and kalamata olive tart represent the wintry classics on his menu. Outside, sunshine glares off snow banked midway up the first-floor windows. Icicles dangle from the eaves, dripping rhythmically.
Smoke churning from the rock fireplaces is shredded by a frigid wind.
Solid as it is, the building creaks as guests move about the 32 rooms upstairs. Most guys my age are eclectic chefs. His current menus run to such wintry classics as a fondue of Emmentaler and Kirsch, French onion soup, coq au vin, cordon bleu, osso buco. Thus he finishes his seared medallions of venison with a fig demiglaze, coats his rack of lamb with pistachio nuts. At the end of a day, sunburned and parched, they look forward to tucking into the invigorating, comforting calories of grilled duck or seared ribeye.