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1 6 • r e s t a u r a n t d e v e l o p m e n t + d e s i g n • M A Y / J U N E 2 0 1 5 TREND Fire Works A ncient architects laid the hearthstone frst, then built the home or inn around the freplace, the central nexus for heating and cooking. Today, the scent and savor of wood-grilled foods continue to exert a primeval appeal, and a growing number of restaurants now make live-fre hearths the heart of their concepts. The demand for authentic Neapolitan-style pizza has fueled installa- tion of wood-fred brick ovens in trattorias and other casual concepts around the U.S. And a growing cadre of chef-driven restaurants takes the hot concept a step further, using wood-fred grills and hearths to prepare nearly their entire menus. These are not backyard hibachis but rather top-quality commercial equipment designed for the rigors of hard restaurant use. And they're not only central to the menu but are the fo- cus of these operations' brand essence and design aesthetic. King + Duke, Atlanta "The favor you get from cooking over live fre is unparalleled," says EJ Hodgkinson, executive chef at King + Duke in Atlanta, Ga. "It speaks to something nostalgic in its favor profle and harkens back to your frst barbecue with the family when you smell all the charcoal-y smoke in the air." Named after characters in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, King + Duke is one of chef Ford Fry's seven Atlanta-area restaurant con- cepts. Much of the restaurant's menu of locally sourced ingredients is cooked on a battery of three wood-fueled grills set in a 24-foot hearth. The smell of wood smoke lures guests from the parking lot, and when they walk in the front door they have a clear line of sight to the open hearth blazing in the middle of the dining room. From their seats, guests can watch the cooks working the grills. "The hearth is the focal point and the heart of the restaurant," says Hodgkinson. At the restaurant's Chef's Counter, where four coveted seats reside almost directly in front of the fre, guests can watch the action and eat dishes hot off the grill. "It's the warmest place in the restaurant, but not oppressively hot," says Hodgkinson. An effcient air return system keeps the restaurant comfortable despite the "24 feet of inferno happening." King + Duke features a 6-foot cen- ter grill sandwiched by a pair of 4-foot grills. On the two side grills, the frebed is at waist level with grills suspended above. The culinary team can use cast aluminum crank wheels to adjust the height of the cooking surface. The cen- ter grill is fed from below; its interior is lined with frebricks, which creates an immense amount of directed heat. Over the top of the grill sits a custom-built smoke box. "That's the way we fnish a lot of our proteins, so they get that fnal touch BY THOMAS HENRY STRENK, Contributing Editor The focal point of King + Duke's interior is the hearth where a large center grill sits below a smoker box. On either side is a smaller wood-burning grill with cooking surfaces that can be raised or lowered. Photo by Andrew Thomas Lee