Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Ray Carpenter is driven—and his need to be the best is no idle chatter. His tenure at Prime 1000 resulted in a nod from the Travel Channel as the best steakhouse and lounge in Missouri and acclaim as one of three game-changing steakhouses across the country. Last year, Wild Horse Grill (wildhorsegrill.com) corralled Carpenter. Now he’s teaching a wild horse new tricks.
What dialed you in to the restaurant business?
What hooked me was the transformation, simply the realization of how something rough and raw can be transformed into a beautiful, finished product…and I always wanted that to be the best it could be—even if it was fried zucchini sticks.
You have a reputation as a taskmaster. Were you always that way?
At my first job, at [the former] Madison's Cafe in St. Charles, you either worked hard or got worked out. You manned up, or you were gone in a week. I respected that.
Did any other careers tempt you?
I could have become a drummer. But when I became a father at 22, I decided instead to become a better dad, so I put the drums aside. To me, kitchen work was the same organized chaos.
How so?
The creativity, different themes, different tempos... Every time you play a dish, you have a choice: to make it exactly the same, or riff on it.
Were there any riffs that didn't work?
When I was at Crazy Fish, one of my coworkers thought adding cinnamon to a steak fajita soup would make it awesome. I tried to tell him, but he had to do it anyway. I knew it would be horrible, but man, it was a mangled mess.
Was there a person who taught you something you'll never forget?
When I was at J. Buck's, Jody Wright taught me how to properly cost out a menu. Now I'm brought on board to straighten out kitchens that have food cost problems.
What's the biggest challenge to the independent restaurant operator?
Competing with the buying power of chains. Having to go up against places that put several courses on the table for $10 to 15 is not easy. Having a better quality product only goes so far.
You opened Prime 1000 downtown. It had the first onsite dry-aging room in town, did it not?
It was more hassle than it was worth, really. It was more for show—and not designed to be practical... On a good Saturday, I could wipe out whatever was in there. To be effective, it would have needed to be walk-in size, not closet-size.
Dry-aging rooms are maintenance-intensive too, right?
There are black lights to monitor, humidity and temperature levels to watch, and when those Himalayan pink salt blocks crack—and they crack all the time—they cost $126 each to replace.
Is the room still in use?
It's used for wine storage. It should have been that in the first place.
What are the challenges of running an urban steakhouse versus one in the suburbs?
At Prime, we had the best of everything—meats, seafood, creativity; we were the Riverfront Times' Best Steakhouse in 2011 and the Travel Channel's Best Steakhouse in Missouri, but still had plenty of slow periods. I know suburban places face the same issues. Price is a big factor... It's something St. Louis worries about a lot—charging just a few bucks more for an entree can take you out of the game.
People today seem to be eating less red meat. True or false?
Not true, here or at Prime. I really think eating less meat is just as much a function of price as anything else. If a piece of fish or chicken costs less than steak, you'll less sell steak, plain and simple.
So I'm guessing Wild Horse doesn't sell much fish.
We do sell a ton of Chilean sea bass, which bothers me, as that fish isn't sustainable. We've backed ourselves into a corner on that one.
Talk about clientele.
It's different in every neighborhood. At Wild Horse, it's more conservative than downtown, for example. There's a demand for traditional steakhouse items, spicing, less artistic plating...
How do you get customers to try new things?
You start with items and proteins they're familiar with and then start trying similar items... If you like the taste of cod, chances are you'll like haddock, too. That's how a conservative restaurant can become more than it was and eventually have it be perceived differently than it was.
Do you use nightly specials to introduce new things?
Sure, but that's a snapshot, not a real indicator. Eight or 10 people liking a special—or not—doesn't really say much. You have to give a new item a run on the menu to properly gauge its acceptance. It must be served with carefully chosen sides; the days of putting the same vegetables on all plates are long gone in better restaurants.
How about new cooking techniques?
I use a sous-vide cooker for a lot of things—fruits, vegetables, not just proteins. It’s a fact that many of your favorite foods taste better when cooked that way. Even something basic is a new experience when cooked differently. But immersion cooking under vacuum is just a tool. It doesn't replace a person. It doesn't fix anything. But it does tenderize and enhance what's already there.
How varied does a steakhouse menu have to be these days?
Even in the jinky ones, the menu has to be only as varied as its customers demand.
Wild Horse Grill has been around for 13 years. Why change the program now?
Fine dining has been struggling everywhere. The owners knew it was time for a change and were aware of what I’d done at Prime. Part of my makeup is having to be the best, which can also be an issue. It's cost me employees, but many times they came back after years and told me, "Ok, now I understand."
Did the price point change in the year you've been at Wild Horse?
Steaks are in the $30 to $40 range, same as the competition. But every weekend, we also do Fried Chicken Sundays, where $17 gets you a four-piece dinner plus sides.
What's lacking in kitchens these days?
Care and concern. Too many kitchens run like they’re automated: Cooks toss something in, squeeze something on, and then send it out to the table. Kitchens need people who care enough to taste every dish that's sent out.
How do you overcome the "chain madness” that is so prevalent these days?
Complacency has replaced any desire to try new things. Until that mindset changes, nothing else will. Guys like me think people deserve better than mediocre. I didn't get to where I am by accepting mediocrity.
Did Wild Horse undergo any physical changes when you came on board?
A more casual vibe was introduced, for good reason. Think about it: When you talk about Grandma's apple pie being the baddest-ass pie in the world, a lot of that is couched in other things: the anticipation, the smells, the company, the coziness of her house, the fact that the pie was hand-made and it came with stories. That experience wasn't three-star Michelin, but it was anything but mediocre. That's all we're trying to do here: Cook good food and provide an experience.
