When did you
start in the industry and why did you become a
chef?
I
started cooking professionally while I went to
University of Texas. I was
studying science at the time. Our family members were
refugees from Budapest, and Hungarian
food played a big part of my young life, as our culture
was very tight-knit. I did not realize at the time how
interested I was in cooking, but I was definitely
interested in eating well. I also didn’t realize how
much I actually knew about food and cooking simply from
being exposed to really good food; my grandmother was an
exceptional cook and a professional chef at one
time.
I grew up with lots of real honest food,
nothing prepackaged. I actually have
never had a soda if you can believe it! I ate beautiful
old country food and knew things about food from a young
age that it seemed no one else my age knew. Wow, I mean
duck, tripe, fresh water fish, confit, foie gras,
goulash - we ate it all. In our household food came
together in a balanced way and was always well seasoned.
After a while at school I decided I did
not want to be in a lab coat- I liked the science I was
learning but not the stodginess of the lab. I also had
started cooking to pay my way through school. It soon
became more than a college job and I got serious about
the finesse of cooking and the quality. Needless to say,
through this self-application I rose in the kitchen
ranks quickly. I also had the opportunity to work in
Europe. When I got back
from overseas I landed a position at a restaurant in
Berkley called The
Omnivore and quickly took the head position from a chef
who was older and starting to burn out in his career.
Later, while I was chef at Mudds in San Ramon, the
opportunity presented itself to go to work for Alice
Waters at Chez Panisse.
I then went to work at Premier Cru – they
were the largest importer of Bordeaux in the U.S. They also had a
kitchen.
They had a fire and closed, so I committed myself
to Joyce Goldstein for six months and opened Square One
with her.
Then when Premier Cru reopened I went back
there. I
also went to work for Sante Fe Bar and grill for a
number of years.
After a trip to
Barcelona, where I honed
my skills in Spanish cuisine, I came back and opened
Sole y Luna, the first San Francisco
restaurant to do Tapas and Iberian food, it was serious,
creative Spanish fare.
In the mid 90’s
Lori Regis and I partnered to
reopen Stars; this was long after Jeremiah Towers left, and
we ran it successfully until the lease ended; we did not
renew. Moving on was necessary and we did not think that
it would be relevant to re-open Stars in another
location. That’s when Lori and I came up with the idea,
and opened
Boulette’s Larder- 2004. I looked at the Ferry
Building space and
designed the kitchen and retail space from the ground up
into a really unique place. The space led to the design,
not visa versa.
All the experience I have gained over the years
comes together here at Boulette’s Larder. Boulette’s is
ingredient driven.
I do all the sourcing and buying myself. We work from a
huge palette of ingredients and then apply
technique.
It is informed improvisation really. We
are on a point on a line, I will always be cooking, but
as time goes on, I think I’d like to do more educating,
public speaking and writing and articulating my ideas in
a bigger way.
Culinary
highlights:
·
At
Slow Food nation last weekend, Scott Peacock made hand
biscuits that were the best I’d ever eaten… I will
always, always remember those biscuits! It wasn’t one
single thing that made those biscuits great – it was
everything.
There are no secrets in this world. Great food takes
smarts, intelligence about ingredients, and hard
work. There
are no short-cuts.
And the idea here is not to go away and make
those biscuits, but to be inspired by these moments to
do new and different things.
·
The
first meal at Alain Passard’s L’ Arpège. I had never
experienced texture that perfect, especially in his
squab breast. He is a master in controlling cooking
temperatures.
His favorite thing to say was, “the taming of the
flame was the true mark of civilization.”
·
My
grandmother’s food had the same soul as some of the best
French chefs, but her focus was on nurturing her
family.
What chefs influenced you the
most?
- The chefs at Chez Panisse: Alice Waters,
the late Catherine Brandel, and Paul Bertolli. They
had a reverence and passion for the ingredients and
techniques they used
- I
learn from everyone I work with; cooking is a live
variable practice is never finished.
If you could keep only three
culinary books, what would they
be?
Richard Olney’s Simple French Food, “Honey
From a Weed” by Patience Gray and “North Atlantic Seafood” by
Davidson and any book by Elizabeth David and Paula
Wolfert.
Some recent great books by local chefs: “Zuni” by
Judy Rogers and “My Bombay Kitchen” by Nilofour
King.
Cookbooks interest me the most when they are
placed into cultural and agricultural context and when
technical nuances are discussed. Mostly I read
scholarly food texts and political food texts.
Favorite kitchen
gadget(s)
Other than my knives, a little hand-held
mandolin.
Most memorable dining
experience:
When my daughter turned 20 we went to
Pierre Gagnaire in Paris; mind you, my
daughter is a vegetarian. She was nervous
beyond belief that dining here would be a
challenge.
Chef came out to the table and knelt down beside
my daughter – this was a very formal dining room, by the
way. He
said, “Don’t worry, you can trust me.” He cooked her 20
vegetarian courses – one for each year of her life --
that were amazing!
The care and personal attention he gave us were
beyond grace.
Favorite ‘elbows on the table
hole in the wall’
A
place in Istanbul called Ciya
(pronounced CHEE-ya) it’s so small it’s in an alley and
split up in numerous spots down that alley mind you. The
food is Syrian-Turkish, well-seasoned,
herbaceous and very
sophisticated.
A food item you hate to admit
to liking
Mortadella
Three things in fridge right
now:
A
bottle of champagne; homemade pancetta; a chunk of
Reggiano.
Secret junk food
indulgence:
I have to think
hard on this but I do occasionally enjoy those dried
Japanese peas coated in wasabi powder.
