Wes Choplin, owner of Choplin’s Restaurant on One Norman Boulevard
If you want to prepare a meal that everyone is going to love, try Wes Choplin’s Family Feast. A broiler pan full of flank steak, vegetables and baby red potatoes, it’s easy, fast and takes advantage of fresh produce.
Choplin knows how to feed a crowd and do it right.
He and wife Adrianne are the owners of Choplin’s Restaurant on One Norman Boulevard. The shopping center, which now has a gym and a multi-sport store, is on the comeback trail, and Choplin feels good about it.
“The secret to our success is especially never giving up. Some days are harder than others but keeping your head up, staying humble, working hard, and loving what you do are some of the ways I have made it through those tough days,” he says.
He grew up in Winston- Salem where he learned to cook by watching his family. “They had such a love and passion for food and knew the importance for good cooking in everyday life. They are the ones who inspired me to be the chef I am now,” he says.
His grandmother was a “country cook” and a big influence, Choplin said, explaining that he always admired how she could feed the entire family and enjoy every minute.
Choplin was cooking for about 10 years before attending the Culinary Institute of America at the main campus in Hyde Park, N.Y. CIA graduates include the likes of Roy Yamaguchi, Rocco DiSpirito and Anthony Bourdain.
“I was able to open Choplin’s Restaurant in March of 2010, and have been riding this crazy rollercoaster for a little over six years,” he says. He credits financial support from his in-laws and family as well as the “grace of God” for being able to open his own restaurant.
“I was blessed with a loving, nourishing family growing up. I am now married to my beautiful wife Adrianne and have three children and one granddaughter,” Choplin says. The Choplins live in Madison Village off Bethel Church, not far from the restaurant.
They attend First Baptist Church in Cornelius and volunteer for Watchmen of the Streets, a homeless outreach.
The Choplin Family Feast is a delicious way to bring a lot of flavor to guests and family. Wes says it’s important to slice this cut thin and against the grain.
Choplin’s Family Feast
Ingredients:
1 Flank steak (3lb)
3 ea. Yellow Squash
2 ea. Zucchini
8 ea. Spring onions
1 ea. Ripe tomato
2 lb. Baby red potatoes
3 ears fresh corn
Fresh Basil
Salt and pepper
Favorite spice blend
Extra virgin olive oil
Method:
In a broiler pan, lay the flank steak in the middle of the pan (broiler setting on). Blanch corn cut in half in boiling water for 5 minutes. Place vegetables and potatoes that have been diced into large pieces (1 ½ in. by 1 ½ in.). Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and your favorite summer spice blend.Place in broiler and cook for about 15 minutesturning the vegetables until roasted. After everything is brown, remove from the oven.Place the flank steak on a cutting board and let rest for 5 minnutes- slice thin on an angle, place back in the middleof pan and place basil on top. Serve.
