Executive chef Jeffrey Stout developed his fine dining skills at restaurants such as Chantilly and Alexander’s Steakhouse. At his new venture, Orchard City Kitchen, located in The Pruneyard in Campbell, Stout has done away with pomp and circumstance in lieu of shareable plates in a casual, welcoming atmosphere. Stout sat down to talk with SanJose.com about his new digs.

Your previous stint was at Alexander’s Steakhouse. Is steak your culinary muse?
No, it was just one of the things we decided the area needed and that we would do a steakhouse but at a different level. At that time it was all Morton’s and Ruth Chris and we thought, ‘What can we do to make it a little more contemporary?’ I earned a Michelin Star [at Alexander's] for three years, and then when we separated they lost their star.

Was the South Bay always on your radar for Orchard City Kitchen?

Absolutely, definitely wanted to stay in the South Bay. You know, there’s a number of high-end restaurants—Alexander’s, The Plumed Horse, Parcel 104, Chez TJ, Manresa—but as far as in this kind of environment, dining has kind of changed to more casual. So, I like restaurants like The Table and Lexington House, where you don’t feel like you have to be served by a tuxedoed waiter. You don’t have to feel like you have to spend a million dollars in order to eat there. You can eat for a little or eat for a lot depending on how you feel.

How would you describe your menu at OCK?
It’s New American, which means it can have global influence, but we mostly try to stay true to this area. We don’t want to use a lot of foreign words on the menu or anything that is difficult. We don’t want to have to force people into thinking, ‘Which fork do I eat with?’

Tell me about this glass-doored, walk-in fridge behind us.
I saw that at a place called Shed in Healdsburg. They had these walk-in refrigerators with a sliding glass door, and I thought, ‘Wow, that is so cool!’ Here we wanted to do it, so we could display the bounty of Campbell’s farmers market. And when you’re driving by that’s one of the things you can see.

Tell me about your bar program?
Perry, our bartender is doing an awesome job. I think we have the best bar program in the South Bay. I will say it: I’m calling all other bar programs out. We have the best bar program in the South Bay.

Orchard City Kitchen
1875 S. Bascom Avenue #190, Campbell
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