Bald Headed Bistro to enter new chapter

Chef Bick, back left, and the kitchen staff at Bald Headed Bistro

Bald Headed Bistro is designed like an upscale hunting lodge, with its cabin-like interior and rich amber colors, not to mention its impressive collection of taxidermy moose, ram, bison and even black bear that decorate the walls. The bar stools are made of cowhide and the bar top has actual fossils embedded into it. The air is pungent with the scent of wood smoke.

In fact, one might forget altogether that the upscale restaurant is actually tucked inside a shopping center in Cleveland, Tenn. But I had to wonder. Where did the bistro get its name?

"Alan Jones, the owner, well, he's got a bald head," explained executive chef Bick Johnson. I couldn't help but smile.

"Seriously?" I asked.

"It's funny, hey?" said Bick, smiling too. "It's brilliant, really. You can't say the name of the restaurant without smiling." "Chef Bick" has the same effect on people. His demeanor is laidback and his personality is playful. He seemed very much at home when we sat down to talk about his decade-long career at Bald Headed Bistro - as well as his pending retirement.

"He's been a part of Bald Headed Bistro since its inception," sales and marketing manager Janelle Mankins told me. Bick's career in the kitchen began 30 years ago in Memphis when he apprenticed with a chef in a French restaurant. Later, he followed that same chef out west to continue his training.

Eventually he returned to Tennessee, where he perfected a Southern style of cooking in the kitchens of various country clubs. It was then that he met Alan, who proposed his idea for Bald Headed Bistro, a restaurant specializing in Western fine dining and receiving influence from Southwestern-style cuisine, the flavors of wild game and the open fire.

"Think cowboys. Think out on the range," Bick said. "The wood fire is where it all started."

Naturally, these elements also helped inspire the four-course menu being featured Saturday, Aug. 24 at the bistro's special Wine Dinner, which will stand as Chef Bick's last hurrah. "I'll be trying out techniques for the first time," he said excitedly.

For the first course, Bick will prepare mountain trout using wood-smoked coffee beans to cook the fish. I was awestruck. "It came to me in a dream," Bick said, grinning. He said he is also excited about the quail trio, which will feature the restaurant's ever-popular quail cooked three ways: Southern-fried, boudin-stuffed and wrapped in jalapeno bacon, and, finally, glazed with absinthe.

Indeed, it would take an experienced culinary master to come up with these kinds of exquisitely creative concoctions.

Chef Bick's final Wine Dinner party is by reservation only. Bald Headed Bistro will accept up to 50 reservations on a first come, first served basis. "It will be the culmination of his years here," said Janelle.

Upon his retirement, Bick says he plans to spend more time tending his urban garden, caring for his chickens and, of course, with his family. Restaurant hours can be long and grueling, he said.

"He's the hardest-working person here," Janelle said proudly. "And I love it," Bick responded. No doubt about it, there are soon to be big shoes to fill at Bald Headed Bistro.