During the week, Gabe Gilbert has a sweet job developing ice cream flavors and products for the Mehadrin Dairy company. Sundays are devoted to his passion—making barbecues. “I’ve always been into barbecues, and have done them for other people,” said Gilbert, a Teaneck based, Johnson and Wales trained chef. “My wife said, ‘you have all this experience; you went to culinary school. You love barbecue. I think you should take it to the next step, make a business card and put yourself out there.’ So I did!”
At Gilbert’s first events, clients had everything ready and he came to grill. Now he does it all—he plans the menu, shops for all the ingredients, makes salads and sides and of course, grills. “My wife says that when I come home from a job, I always have a big smile on my face,” said Gilbert. “She knows I love doing it.”
Gilbert can do as much as the client wants, priced accordingly, with a minimum commitment of three hours. When he does the shopping, he works “hand in hand” with the butchers he knows for the best quality meat, and gets good prices on all the supplies. “I always try to take care of my customers,” he emphasized.
Menu planning with clients revolves around what the hosts are looking for, time of day and whether the guests will be mostly adults, kids or both. Barbecues can be mainly burgers, dogs and wings or include top shelf meats like rib steaks and marinated London Broil. Gilbert is planning a Sheva Brachos dinner for his nephew to include lots of dips and desserts, at his sister’s request. He likes to switch up his menus to use different types of foods with seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables. He has his own recipes for rubs, marinades and salads, from many years working in Teaneck area restaurants. An associate he has worked with in the past, who has his own salad recipes, often joins him. Once they decide which recipes to use, Gilbert does a prep list, gets the ingredients and divides up the tasks. Gilbert is always the grill master.
For a recent pidyon haben, Gilbert purchased all the supplies and ingredients and had them delivered. He and his associate made all the salads “from scratch.” The menu included grilled steaks, ribs, sausages, vegetables and fresh fruit. He also made arayes, a type of grilled meat sandwich in pita bread. “There is no limit to what I can do,” he said with his trademark enthusiasm.
Benjamin Locke hosted the pidyon haben in his backyard for his sister and brother-in-law’s new baby. Locke said the family told Gilbert generally what they wanted, and the budget and Gilbert took it from there. “He created the menu, the salads, the sides—we didn’t have to do anything,” said Locke. “He ordered everything, got it delivered and brought a sous chef. They cooked in our kitchen, all different types of salads and appetizers, and then he barbecued in our backyard. It was really great, everyone loved it. I highly recommend him. It’s a really nice change of pace if you don’t want to cook yourself and just relax for once.”
Grill and chill with Gabe the Grill Guru, and avoid the stress and mess of doing it yourself. Call Gabe Gilbert at 551-340-9024 or email [email protected]. Follow him on Instagram @gabedchef.
