Ellicott City Eatery Prepares for Culinary Smack Down

Ellicott City executive chef Matthew Milani knows from experience that running a restaurant is no easy business.

And after this weekend, the rest of his staff will understand just what he goes through to keep his diners pleased, and business flowing.

Friday and Saturday, Milani’s Main Street restaurant The Rumor Mill will be showcasing what Milani has dubbed the eatery’s “Restaurant Wars,” an inter-staff competition that puts staffers head-to-head in a battle for culinary greatness.

As part of the competition, the staff has been divided into two teams (the front of the house versus the back of the house). Each team has had just over a month to develop a menu, a team concept, and a plan for service. The teams have even had to do their own event advertising by word-of-mouth and Facebook.

“It’s a very eye-opening experience for them, and I just kind of sit back and chuckle sometimes, because the amount of work that goes into a restaurant producing a menu or producing specials everyday, there’s a lot to go on,” Milani explained. “So for them to get a glimpse of that and deal with it from start to finish on their own definitely makes them better cooks down the road.”

On the days of the competition, the restaurant’s diners will become judges, filling out comment cards with their likes and dislikes.

As for the competition’s parameters, each menu must consist of five courses with suggested drink pairings to go with each course. In addition, each team has had to stick to a budget of $350 or less. Menus must include at least one vegetarian or vegan course.

In the meantime, the outcome of the competition will be based on sales, comment cards, and how well each team followed the instructions and worked together.

Milani says he has enjoyed watching his staff get into the nitty gritty of restaurant planning.

“They’ve had about a month to plan for this, and during that time I’ve done nine events with 300 or more people, and they just have to focus on these five little courses,” he says with a smile.

“It gives them a little view into what we do everyday.”

It’s now up to the staff to show off their culinary prowess.  “Autumn Harvest” and “Southern Hospitality” are the teams’ names.

On team “Autumn Harvest,” the menu includes such delicacies as fig brushetta, turkey dinner sliders, and vegetarian corn chowder with drink pairings such as a spiced pumpkin martini.

Sous chef Patricia Sener, the “Autumn Harvest” team captain, is ready for battle and is proud of what her team is about to put out.

“Our menu focuses on seasonal ingredients,” Sener said. “That way we can incorporate the holidays.”

And there are .

She says that thus far her team has done “extremely well” executing the concept, with everyone contributing at least a recipe or an idea. She adds that the event has managed to bring the staff closer together.

“This has helped form a stronger bond with the employees,” Sener noted.  

In the meantime, she says that the competition for bragging rights will be tight.

“It could go either way,” she said.  

This is not the first time The Rumor Mill has done such a competition.

Milani, 35, has been trying to mix things up almost as soon as he opened the restaurant back in 2007. Since the restaurant’s focus is all about innovation, he figures it’s good for business to do things a little different every now and again.

Last year the competition pitted the male staffers versus the female staffers; before that it was the sous chefs versus the head chef.

“This kind of stuff lets them experiment,” Milani explained.

“As for his own restaurant experimentations, Milani has expanded the eatery’s vodka offerings to more than 70 flavors, (including bubble gum, olive, hot tamale, and tomato to name a few), and his menu, which consists of “global” small plates, continues to evolve.

“We want to take our guest with us as we experiment and do more things,” Milani explains.

And when it comes to this year’s “Restaurant Wars,” he said he's hoping his guests will enjoy each team’s unique take on such evolution.

“It should be fun."