Shane Hoffman-Cooking up a New Story (4th Feature)

This week I had the opportunity of going to interview Mike Odette, a local chef and co-owner of Sycamore Restaurant. I went because he was up for a big award in his field, but I did not want that to be the only angle I took on the story. I went into the restaurant with a goal in mind. I wanted to find something, anything to help humanize him and give his profile a more recognizable feel to it than just some big award.

As I walked into the room to start setting up the equipment, Mike's daughter Elizabeth strolled in behind me. She was loud, brave, and confident. In other words, she was perfect. I did the one-on-one interview with Mike and then went back to the kitchen with him to get some sound of him cooking. Right as we stood over the stove Elizabeth came over and wanted to help. It was a perfect moment for sound and a great photo opportunity.

I had no idea that this opportunity was going to present itself until it happened. I think the key is I went into the story searching for that special angle. I had a plan and it worked out. While stories may not always work out this way, I'm learning that the more preparation you do as a journalist. The "luckier" you'll get. I've still got a lot of work to do this semester but I know one thing is for sure, I'm loving what I'm doing and I'm so thankful and blessed to be at MU.

Journalistic reflection

This week I read a story online about the Missouri Womens basketball team. Here's the story link:

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2009/03/02/sweet-victory/

To sum it up, the article is about how the MU womens basketball team encountered an unexpected event after their big win at Colorado last weekend. The story starts out with a great hook about the bus taking an unexpected turn. I expected it to be a story about the bus being hijacked or about some big surprise. In a sense the author, Rachel Crader, was setting me up for a steak kind of story.

However, once I read further the steak quickly turned to a cheap frozen dinner. The bus driver was searching for a Dairy Queen to treat the players in the area but never found one. Sure, it delayed the team 20 minutes, but was it really worth a headline? Was it really newsworthy? I'd say no to both those. It came across as someone who desperately needed a story for deadline and kind of just threw something together. I understand that that happens in our profession from time to time but it shows and it certainly did here.

I can only hope that the next time I read an article about the team it's more story related. Womens sports in general gain far less coverage and interest than mens as it is. Stories like this only hurt the perception of womens sports even more.

Local Chef Nominated for National Award

A couple of hours before dinner time Sycamore restaurant co-owner and chef Mike Odette, holds his daughters small hand in the kitchen as she tightly grips a blender. At only two and a half years old Elizabeth may be small, but her father has already begun to teach her some culinary skills. After stacking two small crates on top of each other for support, Elizabeth stands above the stove thickening a carrot soup that will be served that evening for dinner.



Odette’s commitment to family serves an important role in his profession and lifestyle. Mikes wife Amy is a local firefighter who often works 24-hour shifts. On those days Odette drops Elizabeth off at school while their one-year-old son Harry joins him at the restaurant. Odette says the couple prefers it this way.

“We’ve managed to dodge the daycare babysitter bullet for most of the kids lives.” Odette says.

Odette’s hard work and more than two decades of cooking experience have caught more than his family’s eye. Odette was recently names as a semifinalist for a James Beard Award; the equivalent of an Oscar nomination in the culinary profession.

Although Odette acknowledges being selected is a tremendous honor, he says he hopes the real benefactor of the award will be the city of Columbia.

“A lot of small towns in general have some very, very good restaurants, “ Odette says. “Columbia in particular has some serious culinary talent and some very good restaurants that are very worthy of attention.”



Odette came to Columbia in the fall of 1986 to study engineering and French at MU. He only started working at restaurants to support himself when school didn’t work out. Once Odette started cooking however, the skills came naturally to him.
“I liked it an awful lot and that kind of surprised me,” Odette says. ‘Cooking and I seemed to hit it off together right off the bat.”

Odette now employs 30 people at his downtown restaurant. Karlos D’Agostino has been working with Odette since the two of them were employed at Cherry Street wine cellar five years ago. D’Agostino followed Odette to Sycamore.

Agostino says he enjoys working for Odette because he’s very different from popular TV cooking personalities.

“Very laid back. The polar opposite of the angry chef you see on like the Hells Kitchen,” D’Agostino said. “Picture the exact opposite of that and that’s what it’s like working for Mike.”

Odette joins 19 other chefs in the Midwest category for Best Chef. Between 400 and 500 judges who range from food critics, educators and past winners will cast online ballots in the contest. The field will be narrowed to five finalists and the winner will be announced March 23rd.

Although Odette recognizes the great honor that would come with winning the award, he says for now his focus remains on his restaurant which he hopes to pass onto his family some day.