Elvis played a boxer in the 1962 feature film, Kid Galahad. But Mario Torres, chef and food and beverage director at Elvis Presley Enterprises, is a boxer in real life.
Boxing, like cooking, is a passion, Torres says. He boxes every day when he gets home from work. “It’s my therapy,” he says, adding, “I hit a heavy bag.” And after a day of preparing his culinary creations, which include “Presley Salad,” “The King’s Cut” tomahawk steak, and pork belly pork chop, he says boxing “gives me peace.”
Torres wrestles pots and pans in seven Graceland restaurants, including the newest, “The Showroom at Graceland,” which is in the Guest House at Graceland. “We have always had a theater at the Guest House. And we continue to show a movie at 7 p.m. every day. If you stay at the Guest House, you watch a movie of Elvis.”
But they repurposed part of the theater for special events, he says. “We removed the first 20 rows of theater seating and added tables. We’re doing a dinner and a stage show.”
They launched The Showroom with a soft opening on January 1st. “We did a few events for birthday week. And then we did a moonshine dinner with the moonshine partner we have.”
“Moonshine Over Memphis” featured Master Distiller Big Nick Calo’s “Hunka Hunka Burning Love” peanut butter banana moonshine. The six-course menu featured “Elvis-inspired flavors,” Torres says.
On April 24th, Torres prepared a bourbon dinner, created around four Old Forrester bourbons: “1870 Original Batch,” “1897 Bottled in Bond,” “1920 Prohibition Style,” and “1910 Old Fine Whiskey.” The menu included bourbon-poached shrimp with sweet corn puree, peach chimichurri, Tasso ham, and pickled vegetables; buttermilk-fried Muscovy duck with maple biscuit, macaroni and cheese, and bourbon sorghum gastrique; and beef Wellington pot stickers with duxelles and chanterelle mushrooms, demi-glace, and béarnaise sauce.
“I always like to use local ingredients,” Torres says, adding, “I wanted to do something local. We are in Memphis and we are in the South. Nothing says that more to me than a traditional fried chicken dish. I did a twist on that: buttermilk fried duck.”
Instead of a traditional beef tenderloin, Torres used “braised short rib with a nice gravy and mushrooms and demi-glace. Very thick so it (makes it) a comfort dish.”
Dessert was a “deep-fried PB and J.” It was inspired by “Elvis’s favorite” sandwich. “A miniature version of it. It’s a breaded and deep fried chocolate bourbon ganache.”
He’s already preparing for the next special event, which will be a “spirits dinner” on May 23rd. They’ll partner with Old Dominick Distillery.
Restaurants at Graceland include EP’s Bar & Grill, a “gastro pub;” Minnie Mae’s Sweets, which is an “ice cream parlor;” Vernon’s Smokehouse, a “barbecue restaurant;” and Gladys’ Diner, which features pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders, and fries. “When you walk in there, it’s like you’re walking back to 1959,” Torres says.
(below left to right) deviled eggs and pan seared salmon
Delta’s Kitchen is “upscale Southern cuisine.” Menu items include shrimp and grits, braised short ribs, and a range of steaks, including The King’s Cut — a “32-ounce Tomahawk steak.”
They change the Delta’s Kitchen menu every year, Torres says. They keep the popular entrees, but “play with the ingredients to give them a fresher look.” Shrimp and grits, for example, “has probably been transformed three times.”
Torres adds,“I think seven restaurant outlets can be a challenge, but I think I have managed 12 restaurants at once. To me, it’s something I am familiar with. But it’s still a challenge.” It’s all about developing a strong team, Torres says. “I have built a tremendous team I can count on.”
His hours each day depend on what’s going on. It could be “8 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.” On his off days, Torres and his family check out Memphis restaurants. “I love to explore new places,” he says, adding he’s “constantly reading the Memphis Flyer” and other papers “to see what’s new out there, what’s trending, who’s proposing something different. I think the culinary landscape in Memphis has evolved into what we see now. And it’s going to evolve even more. I see a big culinary movement in Memphis.”
Torres prefers a taco stand to a fine dining restaurant. “I think some of the street food in Memphis is amazing. I think the food truck landscape in Memphis is amazing.” And, he says, “I am shocked and amazed right now by the Venezuelan street food. I’ve been eating a lot of arepas lately.”
But, Torres says, “If I have to pick my favorite restaurant in the city of Memphis, it would be Amelia Gene’s.” He loves the food. The restaurant, under executive chef Nat Henssler, features “an adventurous menu” and offers “the best service,” Torres says, adding that Amelia Gene’s chef de cuisine, Jonathan Lazorov, “used to be my sous chef when I opened Southern Social. It’s amazing to see what he has become.”
And then there’s boxing. “I am a boxing enthusiast. I used to actively box when I was younger. I am part of the Central Texas Boxing Commission. I like to travel back to Texas. I sometimes judge a match that’s part of the training camp.”
He still boxes “at times,” but at his age “the energy level is not the same.” But, he says, “I spar with my son every week.” On March 5th, Torres was not behind a range, but in the ring at a competition in Dallas, Texas. “It was a draw,” he says of his match, adding, “I was happy.”
