It says something when a restaurant is named “Best Hotel Restaurant” twice.
It also says something when that restaurant’s chef held that title during both wins.
Chez Philippe at The Peabody was named “Best Hotel Restaurant” last September in USA Today’s annual 10 Best Travel Awards. And Keith Clinton was chef de cuisine both times the restaurant received the honor.
“This is the second year we’ve won in a row,” says Clinton, 36.
Asked how he felt when he heard the news, Clinton says, “It felt good and made me proud of my team and made me proud of our local growers we source from. We rely on that a lot to drive the script of our menus.”
And, he adds, “It’s kind of like music. They’re filling in all the chords and we are just playing them.”
According to the news release, “Chez Philippe is known for its modern American cuisine with classical French presentation and as one of the most romantic dining experiences in Memphis.”
It also points out Clinton’s “passion for incorporating local and seasonal ingredients into his culinary masterpieces.”
In a 2023 Memphis Flyer interview, Clinton told how he goes the extra mile for his diners — and not just with the food. Chez Philippe patrons are researched after they make their reservations. Using information from LinkedIn and other sources, Clinton likes to surprise his diners with information about themselves. Like telling them where they’re from, where they work, where they went to school. It’s a great way to personalize someone’s dining experience.
Recently, a woman dining at Chez Philippe told Clinton, “I’ve done my research on you.”
“And I said, ‘I’ve done my research on you, too,’” Clinton says. He already knew she was in the fashion and clothing business.
Clinton also uses information he gathers from servers, who overhear conversations during dinner. “Like they came here in 2019 or they were married at The Peabody 20 years ago. We know it’s their anniversary because they put that in their guest notes. Who they are and where they’re from.”
And servers are good about picking up bits and pieces of information. One server overheard a couple talking about how they got married at the old location of Felicia Suzanne’s Restaurant. Clinton asked them how long it’s been since they were at the restaurant. They said they hadn’t been since they were married. So Clinton hired a carriage ride for them to take after dinner. They got to drive past the venue where they were married. “People are just so blasé about what they are saying and don’t think people are listening.”
But last January Clinton added another twist to the Chez Philippe dining experience. He calls it the “Kitchen Course.”
About halfway or more through their meal, diners are invited to the kitchen. Their server says, “The chef has invited you to the kitchen to do a quick course with him.”
People think what goes on in a kitchen is a “magical process,” Clinton says. So when it’s time for the meal’s intermezzo, the diners, if they choose to, are escorted by the maître d’ to the kitchen where they eat the intermezzo, which might just be a one-or-two bite granita, and “hang out and chat for five or ten minutes.”
The maître d’ then escorts them back to their table. “It’s kind of a hybrid of a ‘chef’s table,’ where the guest is eating in there the whole time.”
Clinton’s kitchen course “makes it so exclusive” to one table. “They feel special because they were invited.”
As for his food, Clinton says, “I’m always pushing myself.”
Currently, Clinton offers a 14-course menu, which incudes “surprise canapés.”
And, he says, “We change one thing a week instead of doing a seasonal menu.”
Instead of changing all 14 items, the one item he does change usually depends on what is in season at the farms he uses for a particular food. Clinton is loyal to the growers. So whenever his grower runs out of the blackberries or whatever he buys from that particular producer, Clinton doesn’t try to find blackberries from somebody else. “When he’s done, I’m always done,” he says. “I’m exclusive to them.”
The only menu item that has not changed since Clinton began is tuna, pomelo, and avocado. “My favorite of all time.”
If any of his diners want to turn the tables and do some research on Clinton, they might discover he’s from Memphis, went to Bartlett High School, and, when he was in his 20s, played drums in an indie band, The Incredible Hook.
“It was music first and then it became both and then it became all cooking.”
Clinton still has a piano at his house. “It’s a very old, but very nice, extremely heavy piano. We just moved and it was so heavy it broke their dolly.”
But he only plays it now “in a passing manner.”
His wife Meredith, who was the sous-chef for almost a year at Bog & Barley, now works at Ben E. Keith Foods, a food purveyor.
They both cook at home. “It’s kind of like whoever is off that day. I’m off; I will cook. She’s off; she will cook. And if we’re both off, we go out.”
He also takes off his chef’s hat — figuratively speaking — to make time for their son Carter, 8. It’s “difficult to turn it off,” but Clinton knows he “has to be a good father.”
They do everything from picking strawberries together to playing video games together. “So that helps motivate me to turn it off and on.”
