NATCHEZ — When Chef Brad Seyfarth walks into his kitchen he is in charge.

But, thanks to the 2008 series of guest chefs at the Castle Restaurant at Dunleith, occasionally Executive Chef Seyfarth, gets the chance to relax and return to student mode. Every other month during 2008, The Castle has opened its massive double doors to an expert chef to prepare a showcase dinner and, at the same time, leave some of their culinary knowledge behind.

For Seyfarth, the experience has given him the chance to gauge himself against some of the best in his profession.

“It is a great opportunity to have someone who has been in the business for years, has a culinary arts degree and is regarded as one of the best in the business come here and be able to compare yourself to them,” Seyfarth said. “I get to see how I measure up and learn what I can do better and how to be more creative and innovative.

It is also a chance for his young staff to learn from the masters in their art.

“Everyone in our staff is in that 30-year-old age bracket. Some are older and some are younger but we are all fairly young,” Seyfarth said. “This is a blessing for us to be exposed to these chefs.”

Seyfarth said he encourages his staff to soak up as much knowledge as they can during the visiting chefs’ short stay.

“We get to spend an entire day learning with these guys,” Seyfarth said. “I tell (the staff) to take the chance to pick their brains and learn whatever they can while they are here.”

John Holyoak, general manager at Dunleith, said he sees the benefits as two-fold. The guests at the restaurant are treated to an exquisite meal and the daily cuisine at the restaurant has also improved because of the staffs eagerness to learn.

“I’m a pretty critical person person when it comes to our restaurant,” Holyoak said. “But, since these chefs have been coming in, I’ve found less and less to be picky about. All the little details are coming together better and better.”

Since the series began, the staff at The Castle have worked next to Greg Sonnier, executive chef at the Grill Room at the Windsor Court Hotel in New Orleans; Michael Plauche, chef at Martin’s Wine Cellar in New Orleans; Hays Vaughn, corporate chef for Mississippi with Sysco Food Service and Anthony Spizale, chef at the Rib Room in New Orleans.

Because of the guest chef series, Seyfarth has been able to work with new ingredients and combinations of ingredients that he wouldn’t have originally paired together.

During Chef Sonnier’s visit, one appetizer prepared was boudin of foie gras with honey lavender mustard sauce. That one dish gave Seyfarth his first chance to work with lavender and opened his eyes to a unique use of foie gras.

“That was a great dish because it was so innovative with the boudin of foie gras,” Seyfarth said. “And I had never worked with lavender so it was really an innovative dish.”

On top of that, Seyfarth picked up a new technique for frying oysters from a second guest chef.

“He dipped the oysters in egg whites and then in the mill,” Seyfarth said. “The egg whites really made the oyster puff up.”

After some initial nervousness, the rest of Seyfarth’s staff has also jumped in with both feet when the guest chefs come to town.

“At first, they were a little apprehensive about working with the chefs,” Seyfarth said. “But now they all volunteer to work those nights, and I hate to deny someone that opportunity.”

Perhaps the excitement is because of the hands-on learning they are able to do during the chefs’ visit.

“(The chef) will go from person to person and show them what they want them to do and then move on to the next person,” Seyfarth said.

While the staff may not have the same amount of experience as the guest chefs, they do have one factor in their favor — home kitchen advantage. The Castle Restaurant is located in an original building, dating to 1795, on the property of Dunleith and, because of its age, has an extremely small kitchen space.

Seyfarth said although he has worked in larger kitchens he is able to work more efficiently in the space at The Castle than other larger kitchens.

“Maybe its because things are more reachable,” he said.

But the small space didn’t go unnoticed by Sonnier. After spending much of the day in the downstairs prep kitchen, Seyfarth and Sonnier went upstairs to get ready for dinner service. Once upstairs, Sonnier was struck by the kitchen space.

“He said ‘Man, this is really small,’” Seyfarth said. “He stood there for a minute and said ‘Man, it’s really hot in here.

“I told him to just wait until we turn on all the equipment.”

Despite the small space, the series has been such a success for the staff that since the series began earlier this year, the menu at The Castle has grown to include versions of some most popular dishes prepared by the guest chefs.

Spizale served the bleu cheese salad from The Rib Room during his visit, and it was such a hit that Seyfarth and his staff tweaked it a bit and added it to their dinner menu. Seyfarth is also still using a version of a cabernet reduction sauce served during the series.

Assistant General Manager at Dunleith, Janice Guido said the experience has been influential for others outside of the kitchen. Because of the guest chefs Restaurant Manager Malan Parks has been able to expand her wine knowledge.

“Malan has worked really closely with the chefs to learn more about wine and now she is really getting into it,” Guido said.

The next guest chefs, Jason Roland and Bingo Starr will be at The Castle on Wednesday. Roland and Starr come to Natchez from St. Francisville, La., where they are chefs at Heirloom Cuisine.

Roland and Starr trained together at the Culinary Institute of America in New York and they both worked in several restaurants in New Orleans before partnering up at Heirloom Cuisine.