Chris Little, Bar Manager, Burton’s Grill, Boston, Massachusetts
Burton’s Grill is committed to seasonally-inspired food made with quality ingredients. Its reputation for being the finest in upscale casual dining stems from an obsession with quality with both food and service. Burton’s strives to improve with every meal or beverage they present to their clientele, which runs the spectrum from urban professionals to college students – really anyone who appreciates the best in food and drink. Chris Little is Bar Manager for the Boston location of Burton’s Grill as well as Beverage Director for the company, currently consisting of 5 locations. Chris has been with Burton’s for 2+ years and has been working in and around restaurants and bars for 13 years. While a student at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Chris supported himself by working in restaurants. His first job for Legal Seafood came as fluke through a job fair, in which he attended wearing shorts and a t-shirt and sporting shoulder length hair. Chris wonders to this day how he was hired.
Upon graduation, he realized he really enjoyed the hospitality business and went to work for Outback Steakhouse. His roles and responsibilities at Outback included bartender, bar trainer, opening bar coordinator, Bar Manager, Manager and eventually Managing Partner.
Chris’ greatest influence remains his father, who instilled in him a passion for good wine and drink. One of his fondest memories is of his post graduation celebration when his father bought him a Macallan 18 as an after dinner drink. He showed Chris how to nose, taste and savor it. For Chris, who was used to taking shots and drinking beer, the moment was an epiphany.
The Perfect Purée in the bar
Burton’s uses fruit purees and concentrates in drink mix bases, and as an ingredient in cocktails and syrups. With five locations, it can be a challenge to constantly deliver high quality cocktails. Chris was looking for a consistent product in both quality and flavor and if he could find it, and his bartenders had great drink recipes, then he would be insured of perfection with ever drink served.
Chris started using The Perfect Purée when he took over as Beverage Director. The Perfect Purée White Peach Puree was the first flavor used in a Sunset Bellini – a traditional Bellini that incorporated Bacardi Peach Rum to emphasize the peach flavor, along with a mini scoop of Raspberry sorbet to keep the drink cool. When the sorbet melted, the color change resembled a sunset.
Since then, flavors in the bar have included The Perfect Purée Green Apple Puree, Mango Puree, Raspberry Puree, Strawberry Puree, Pink Guava Puree, Pear Puree, and Passion Fruit Concentrate, which Chris claims “makes the best Passion Fruit syrup for Hurricanes.” The kitchen has also used The Perfect Purée Blood Orange Concentrate for a Grand Marnier & Blood Orange Anglaise served over warm chocolate torte. Asked if he would recommend The Perfect Purée, Chris responds with a resounding, “Absolutely.” “Having used a couple of different purees and syrup brands before, I’ve come to really respect and depend on the quality that I get from The Perfect Purée,” says Chris. “It is nice to know that there are other companies out there that care about their product that way that we do.”