(The following story by Borden Black appeared on the Ledger-Enquirer website on April 11.)
COLUMBUS, Ga. — Kevin Langton is the chef aboard the Georgia 300 private car headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. Langton has logged thousands of miles on private railcars while cooking for the rich and famous. He is also featured in a pilot show produced for the Food Network.
It takes skill to turn out a gourmet meal in your kitchen. It takes real talent to do that when the kitchen measures 5-by-5 feet. Magic is required when that kitchen is hurtling down the railroad tracks at 80 miles an hour.
Kevin Langton is a magician. The Jacksonville, Fla.- based chef has been cooking for private railcar owners and their guests for the last 12 years.
One of nine children, Langton was inspired to cook by his grandmother. After graduating from college, he decided that was his passion and he attended the Culinary Institute of America in Baltimore. Langton started his career cooking in Jacksonville country clubs and restaurants but decided he wanted to combine his loves of traveling and cooking. His first trip on the rails was a 28-day charter out of Chicago. He learned a lot on that trip about preparing food for a crowd on a sometimes-rough track. But when he returned to Jacksonville he decided that was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
He has since logged thousands of miles on private railcars cooking for the likes of Alan Alda, Barry Gibb (of the Bee Gees), John Kerry and Michael Jackson. Langton is known as one of the premier railroad chefs in the country and works for car owners from Florida to Chicago.
He likens the 85-foot-long passenger cars to cruise ships on wheels. “It’s like traveling in a first class hotel,” Langton says, adding that requires five-star meals and white-glove service from the staff.
Challenges
Serving fresh, regional food is Langton’s forte. Because so many of the charters start in Jacksonville, fresh seafood is usually on the menu for the first meals out. Signature dishes include pecan-crusted grouper and sea bass.
Because the private cars can accommodate only about five days worth of ingredients, chefs must restock when the train makes a long stop. Langton knows markets from coast to coast and jumps off the car at every station to find the ingredients for dishes indigenous to those areas. That can mean lugging sacks of groceries through the subways of New York or making a mad dash through Baltimore so crab cakes will make the nightly menu.
It’s not just getting the supplies that is a challenge. Langton says he always has to be prepared to grab something when the car hits rough rails. Although the stovetops have rails so pots won’t go sliding off, slopping hot liquid still is inevitable. He says that means frying chicken needs to wait until there is a station stop. He also has discovered that fancy desserts need to be prepared when the train isn’t moving. He remembers a homemade pumpkin pie that ended up on the sides of the oven instead of in the pie pan.
Serving can also be difficult and there is a talent to carrying loaded plates and full glasses on a swaying train car.
“I was preparing to serve a fine wine selected by one of the guests,” Langton recalls, “I was getting ready to pour and we hit a bad switch. Half of it ended up on the table.”
He has also learned that plates must immediately be washed and stored before they can slide off the counter. Cabinets have slots and spindles so china and crystal won’t crash into each other once they are put away.
Langton has served guests ranging from presidential candidates to astronauts to celebrities. He has found that most the big names are really simple people who want simple foods. For instance, the wealthy Du Ponts just asked for cream cheese and jelly on bread for breakfast. “Most people are just happy to be on the train,” he explains.
Like on a cruise, passengers look forward to dressing up and coming to dinner where they can expect a five star meal and first-class service.
Despite sometimes-difficult conditions and guests, Langton says there is nothing he would rather do. “I can combine my passion for cooking and travel. Sometimes I think I should do it for free.”
Several of Langton’s recipes are included in James Porterfield’s best selling book “Dining on Rails.” He is also featured in a pilot show produced for the Food Network.
These are some of the dishes he prepares on the Georgia 300 private car headquartered in Jacksonville.