"The bitterness of poor quality lingers on long after the memory of low price has gone."

The motto, one executive chef Mark Widmann picked up during his time in Alaska, is an apt one for a culinary expert so focused on the dining experience.

Widmann helms the kitchen at Cu (pronounced "see-you," not "coo") in downtown Waterloo.

He's from the area originally and has worked at numerous establishments here as well, but it wasn't until he moved to Florida that he really learned how to cook.

"I didn't go to school," Widmann said. "I've always been in the position to learn from the right people - dozens and dozens of great chefs."

His time working in Alaska, may help to explain his zeal for fresh seafood. "It's something people don't get all that much in this area," he said. "It's something people may have never tasted before."

Widmann presents new dishes to customers as new ideas and methods are presented to him, something he enjoys about the restaurant industry.

"It changes a lot. It's always challenging. Every day something different comes up. It's always a learning process - customer demands, trends. You can never get too lax in this business."

Widmann isn't just a 9-to-5 chef either.

"I cook all the time," he said. At home, he typically aims for something different than he's been working on in the restaurant that day - beef if he's been preparing seafood, for example.

"I usually start cooking for two people and end up having enough food for 10," so Widmann calls up friends and family to come over and eat.

"Nobody ever turns down dinner with Mark," he said. "In the last year, I haven't made the same thing twice at home."

The recipe

Widmann's recipe is for mahi-mahi filets stuffed with andouille sausage and shiitake mushrooms, covered with puff pastry and served with a dill havarti cream sauce and fresh asparagus.

"It's not the recipe that I like," said Widmann, "it's the method. It's my favorite method."

He said he's used this method many times over with different kinds of fish, different stuffings and different sauces.

"I can pick a favorite method," Widmann said. "I don't have a favorite recipe."