By Joe Hadsall

jhadsall@joplinglobe.com

Steak lovers know that the most tender, flavorful, desirable cut isn’t the filet mignon. It’s the chateaubriand.

Named after a diplomat who served Napoleon, the cut is the best part of the tenderloin. Because there is only enough for two portions, it is usually served as a meal for two.

The chateaubriand is served exactly as intended at John Henry’s, a new upscale restaurant in the Jenkins Creek Resort. Brian Ward, manager and executive chef, said the inclusion of a 24-ounce portion was one of the requirements from resort co-owner Greg Fauvergue.

“That’s his favorite thing to get when he goes out to dinner with his family,” Ward said. “But ours can serve about three or four.”

The chateaubriand is the highlight of an eclectic, gourmet menu, Ward said. Served with golden Yukon fingerling potatoes, actual baby carrots (not the ground-down types), haricot verts and a few roasted mushrooms in a classic hollandaise sauce, Ward asks that interested diners call ahead to reserve the $90 dish.

“We ask for advance notice, because we can get only one out of each beef tenderloin,” Ward said. “This is a USDA prime cut, and it’s worth every penny.”

Little bit of everything

About that eclectic menu: It also includes presentations of ahi tuna, lamb, trout and duck entrees. It includes appetizers as standard as fried mushrooms and as unique as frog legs.

Ward, 46, said the menu is filled with things he enjoys to cook. He describes it as “a little bit fine French, a little bit Southwest Missouri, a little bit of what the owner likes and I like.”

After working for Leggett & Platt for about 20 years, he decided to start his next career preparing some of the delicacies he enjoyed around the world.

“I managed manufacturing projects for the company, and the job sent me around the world,” Ward said. “When I was traveling, I would eat out three times a day, and as a consequence, I got to eat a lot of good food all around the world.”

That, combined with his mother’s instruction in cooking at an early age, fueled his desire to learn. He completed the Le Cordon Bleu program in Chicago and learned classic French cuisine preparation.