Vū executive chef Kyle Schutte hails from Virginia and earned his culinary stripes at ONE Midtown in Atlanta and at Tennessee’s famed Blackberry Farm. He experimented with molecular gastronomy at XO Restaurant and Lounge in Charlotte before packing up his liquid nitrogen tank and heading west. He’s now leading the kitchen at Vū, which opens on December 1 at Marina del Rey’s Jamaica Bay Inn. The 150-seat, indoor-outdoor restaurant offers views of the marina and the beach, with a menu that focuses on small plates that tout molecular touches.
“A great company believed in what I was doing and was willing to step out of their comfort zone and take a chance on me and my food,” says Schutte. “Los Angeles is saturated with restaurants claiming to be new but simply recycling old ideas. With this offer, I saw a rare opportunity to bring a truly fresh perspective into a major market.”
He said that he believes in three essential principles when writing a menu or creating food. Schutte wants his food to be “fun yet sophisticated,” “innovative yet familiar,” and “humane yet affordable.” As part of the process, he also supports family farms that “treat their animals with the respect and humanity they deserve.”
Vū will serve three meals per day, including stuffed French toast with cinnamon cream cheese, strawberry jam and maple “air” at breakfast, creamy fennel and sage soup with a goat cheese hush puppy and crispy sage at lunch, and Petaluma Farms duck with fennel fondue, cranberry gastrique and pistachio “suds” at dinner. The menu will hold strong for at least a few months, until the community becomes familiar with Schutte’s approach. After that, he’ll be able to adjust the menu based on guest feedback and farmers market discoveries. [The Feast]
