He's up to the challenge of overseeing kitchen

While other boys yearned to be firemen or financiers, Robert Packer always wanted to cook.

Today, Packer, executive chef at Mundelein's Crowne Plaza Chicago North Shore Hotel, where he oversees the pan-Asian restaurant, Karma, as well as hotel banquets and room service, thrives on the multifaceted, unpredictable challenges of his job.

A Harwood Heights native, Packer learned kitchen skills as a youngster while his parents worked. Later, he got his culinary degree at Kendall College.

He has worked at the Hyatt Regency Chicago; the erstwhile Prairie Restaurant in the Hyatt Printers' Row; Foodlife in Chicago's Water Tower Place; the Holiday Inn O'Hare International; the Wyndham Glenview Suites; and, most recently, as executive banquet chef for The Q-Center in St. Charles. Among the highlights of his career was serving as sous chef of food preparation for the U.S. Open.

Packer lives in Des Plaines with his wife, Gina, and three children.

What sparked your interest in cooking? It's the only thing I ever wanted to do. I recently attended my 25th grade-school reunion and I received an award for being the only person who was actually doing what I'd said I wanted to do.

My parents both worked two jobs, so my older brother and sister taught me to fend for myself. I can still remember when they taught me to make grilled cheese sandwiches.

I liked being able to say, "I'm hungry. Let me make something to eat."

Had you been exposed to chefs as a kid? As a child, I didn't really go out that much. We'd go out maybe one or two times a month to some hometown restaurant, nothing fancy.

You've mainly worked in hotels. What do you like about them? There's always something going on. Banquets, the restaurant, room service. There's no downtime. I'm not a downtime kind of guy.

I worked at Foodlife, which is a restaurant with different food stations, a very unusual animal -- very high volume. That led me back to the hotel. I realized that hotels are what I like to do best.

What's your culinary philosophy? You can't do everything yourself. It's teamwork. Whatever I can do for, say, the restaurant manager, it's what I want back. The same with the banquet manager. It's about communication and teamwork.

Do you have a culinary mentor? Chef Robert Lang at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. A great guy. He was truly inspirational. He could pull off whatever he said he could while teaching you his techniques and cooking for 5,000 people, all at the same time. No matter what was going on, he was always there behind you. He taught me that you can't lose your cool.

(The Hyatt) was such a great place to start out because they were so, so busy. It made me want to work in a nonstop place.

What are some of your challenges? Banquets. People see it as "banquet" food. I like to serve it as restaurant food in a banquet arena. I like to see each plate of food as if it were going to the restaurant.

Of course, you can't always serve as dramatic a presentation, you can't cook at the last minute, but I don't want to dismiss it as "just banquet food."

What do you like most about your job? The challenge of not knowing everything. You never know how many people are going to eat in the restaurant, how many room service orders there are going be. There's always that challenge. It's never a dull day.

What's your day like? Do you do much cooking? About 25 percent is hands-on. I jump back and forth from one thing to another.

After cooking for so many weddings and other events, does any incident stand out? Nothing that's funny. At the Holiday Inn in Rosemont, there was a wedding cake on a flatbed truck in the walk-in. I opened the refrigerator and 15 cases of steak had fallen on the cake. It had totally annihilated the wedding cake -- it was on the door, on the walls, across the entire back of the cooler. So I got on the phone to the bakery. They were able to pull off another one. The bride and groom never knew about it.

What do you do away from the in your free time? I spend time with my family. I have three great kids and a great wife. I've got a little motorcycle, a Harley Davidson.

Do you cook at home? I like to grill. When it's 20 below in the middle of January, I'm grilling.

Do you have a favorite ingredient? Fresh anything is always the most flavorful, like say tuna. Tuna is so versatile. A quick marinade, and then it's back to the grill. That's what I find myself doing.

Tell us about this recipe. Thai Ginger Salmon with Spicy Beans. This is one of our biggest sellers. There's not a higher-prized fish on the menu. We serve it garnished with a fried egg roll skin, fried sweet potato shoestrings and a black sesame rice cake.

Try this at home or at Karma in the Crowne Plaza Chicago North Shore Hotel, 510 E. Route 83, Mundelein. (847) 970-6900.

Thai Ginger Salmon with Spicy Beans

2 tablespoons sesame oil, divided

2 skinless salmon fillets (7 ounces each)

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup Thai Ginger BBQ Glaze (recipe follows)

¾ pound long beans, blanched in salted water and shocked in ice water

½ cup Spicy Black Bean Sauce (recipe follows)

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat an oven-proof saute pan over high heat and 1 tablespoon sesame oil; heat to the smoking point. Season salmon fillets with salt and pepper and sear on one side. Flip the salmon over and ladle in the Thai ginger glaze.

Place the pan in the oven for 7 minutes or until the desired doneness.

Meanwhile, in a large saute pan or wok, saute the beans in 1 tablespoon sesame oil until wrinkled; stir and Spicy Black Bean Sauce and heat through.

Arrange the salmon on the plate with the beans and garnishes. Spoon the pan sauce from the salmon over the fish to finish the dish.

Serves two.

Chef Robert Packer, Karma, Mundelein

Spicy Black Bean Sauce

1 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons water

½ cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons sugar

¼ cup light soy sauce

1½ teaspoons black bean miso paste (available at Asian markets)

¾ teaspoon crushed red chilies

Dissolve the cornstarch in the water in a small bowl or jar and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, black bean miso paste and crushed chiles and heat to a simmer. Stir in the cornstarch mixture and let the sauce reduce till thickened. Keep refrigerated.

Makes 2 cups.

Chef Robert Packer, Karma, Mundelein

Thai Ginger BBQ Glaze

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon fresh chopped garlic

1½ teaspoons fresh chopped ginger fresh chopped

1 cups sweet chili sauce

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

Heat the oil in a saucepan and saute the ginger and garlic for 1 minute. Add all other ingredients. Transfer the mixture to a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water to cool. Keep refrigerated.

Makes 2 cups.

Chef Robert Packer, Karma, Mundelein