by Natasha Khairullah
Staff Writer
Cheryl Clark and Jamey Evoniuk want you to get fresh with them.
Clark and her husband Evoniuk are the owners and head chefs at Mandarin’s newest restaurant, Heirlooms. They say although their slogan — “Get Fresh With Us” — has elicited a few laughs, a number of the restaurant’s clients agree it’s an appropriate one.
“People chuckle when they hear it, but then after they try out the food, they get it,” said Clark. “We use the freshest ingredients in our food. It’s healthy for you, so it works.”
Heirlooms, located off San Jose Boulevard in Mandarin, is a culinary cafe and market that also specializes in catering, and uses all fresh ingredients as well as a variety of Heirloom vegetables – hence the name.
“When you’re talking about an heirlooms vegetable, its seed stock goes back hundreds of years from the original seeds,“ said Heirlooms spokesperson Rob Story. “That ensures that the vegetable’s flavor is always there.”
Since opening last month, the restaurant has become one of Mandarin’s most popular dining destinations.
Heirlooms offers a wide variety of unique appetizers and entrees like lump crab cakes with a citrus dill remoulade, baked goat cheese pomodoro or chicken paillard.
“Our chef-designed menus are a starting point for busy people who want great food anytime,” said Clark.
Each entrée is for one person and comes with a choice of one of eight different sides.
Heirlooms also takes a unique approach to catering, just like they do in their menu design.
“We let you and your party really shine because we collaborate with you to design a custom menu and theme just right for your special occasion,” said Clark.
Customers can choose from hot and cold appetizers, special gourmet platters, complete entrees or quick and easy box lunches.
In their first month open, Heirlooms has catered for more than a dozen clients, including CornerStone Homes and Toll Brothers Construction Company.
Heirlooms also offers delivery service every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday between 1-6 p.m.
“We want to make things as easy and convenient for our customers as possible,” said Clark.
Both Clark and Evoniuk have been chefs at numerous high-end restaurants throughout the United States. Clark is a graduate from the Culinary Institute of America and Evoniuk from the University of Florida. He most recently served as a chef at bb’s as well as Biscottis and Clark as owner of a previous independent catering company.
The couple has been married for four years and have two daughters ages 2 and 3. They live in Mandarin about a mile from Heirlooms and say working together at their own restaurant has always been a dream in the pipeline.
“We’ve been planning this for a long time,” said Evoniuk. “It’s something we’ve always wanted to do, but we were just waiting for the right time.”
Heirlooms currently offers cooking classes with Clark and Evoniuk twice a month, but is scheduled to offer more beginning in April. Classes cost $35 per person and reservations are required as class space is limited.