Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Get Weird with Burgers
Ploughman’s Burger. Foto mit freundlicher Genehmigung von Marie Buck Photography

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Why You Shouldn’t Be Afraid to Get Weird with Burgers

A burger can be as glorious as a long tasting menu as long as you think of a burger as being more of an experience and less as something just between two buns.

I think one of the things that people always remember about a great burger are the emotions and memories that it evokes.

At my restaurant now, I have a Ploughman's Burger during brunch, which is based on the English countryside tradition of a Ploughman's lunch. When I was a young cook, I would go to a British pub and would always order this combination. The pickles, bread, and cheese made me feel so happy and satiated after work and I wanted to recreate that experience for my guests via a burger.

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This is when my time as an executive chef for Father's Office and Umami Burger kicked in.

As a regular dude, I absolutely loved the burger at Father's Office. I remember going when it first opened and waiting outside to be one of the first to order it. Then, I took it upon myself to work there, along with Sang Yoon. He really opened my eyes to the world of gourmet burgers. It was surreal at first but it really demystified the burger. I remember there was a quote on the wall in the kitchen. It went something along the lines of, and I will probably mess it up a little bit: "There is a certain person who will behold the beauty of something between hamburger buns."

He taught me to think of a burger more as an experience and less as a just a burger.

The reason why it got so popular is because he didn't think of it simply as a burger. He thought of it as a steak dish. When you start thinking about it this way, it gives you a different type of perspective to burgers. I then went to work at Umami Burger as the executive chef and thought of new burger creations. I created the Korean barbecue burger based on this philosophy. I deconstructed the entire Korean barbecue experience. I thought, How can I recreate the fun and social experience in a burger? For me, that meant introducing a gochujang glaze, caramelized kimchi, and sesame dressing on the lettuce.

Ted Hopson (2) - The Bellwether - Marie Buck Photography

Ted Hopson. Photo courtesy of Marie Buck Photography

I never thought I was going to end up specializing in burgers. When I was younger, I worked doing super high-end seafood at Water Grill. However, every day after work, I would drive to Lucky Boy Burgers in Pasadena and explore every burger on the menu, from the chicken fried steak burger to pastrami burgers. I realized then that food can be simple and still be really great. I thought I wanted to do fine dining but really, a burger can be just as glorious as a long tasting menu. My culinary career eventually expanded toward the burger side after figuring this out. As a chef, burgers are what comforted me after a long day. Every chef will eventually find that food item. For some, it may be tacos or pizza. Whatever it may be, it will always be something that you just want to sink your teeth into.

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The transition from cooking fine dining to flipping burgers was easier than it sounds. You can treat burgers the same way you do fine dining. When you work in fine dining, you build this habit of putting extra care into things. If you keep this same habit and apply it to a burger, you can get a burger that is better than the rest.

Patty Melt - The Bellwether - Marie Buck Photography

Patty Melt. Photo courtesy of Marie Buck Photography

The funny thing was that I didn't even grow up eating burgers much. I grew up in a very Italian household. My grandmother emigrated from Italy and spoke broken English. When I was in high school, I remember I would go to her house after school and request hamburgers. She would say, "Oh, I'll make you a cheeseburger!" She would then make a pasta with five cheeses with a hamburger patty on top. My mom laughs about the same thing. When I was a kid, every time my birthday would come around, I always requested McDonald's.

Fast forward to now, I don't just like making them—I still love eating them, too. I go to Slater's 50/50 all the time because I love their zany, out-of-control burger combinations. I don't know how they think of them, but when you eat them, they are really good.

Breakfast Burger - The Bellwether (2)

Breakfast burger from The Bellwether. Photo courtesy of The Bellwether

I think all of the elements of a burger are equally important. A lot of people say that the beef is the most important part. And sure, you can use dry-aged beef, super-premium beef, ribeye, or just straight chuck, but it is a good combination of everything—bread, cheese, sauce, and toppings—that makes the real magic happen. I also look for originality in burgers. If you are just doing a burger with lettuce, cheese, and tomatoes, you are competing with In-N-Out.

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My advice for home cooks is: Be experimental and deviate away from recipes into the uncharted territory in burgers. Don't be afraid. What's the worst that could happen? You don't like the combination and you scrape it off and just eat a plain burger?

The most important thing to remember is to just to have fun.

As told to Javier Cabral

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Ted Hopson is the chef and owner of The Bellwether in Studio City, California. He was previously the executive chef of Father's Office and Umami Burger. For more info on his burger philosophy, check out his restaurant's website.