ruminations

A Conversation with The Chef

June 20, 2017    » posted by: charlieredd

Chapel Hill, North Carolina 1997

Chef Brian Stapleton called me into his office at The Siena Hotel when I got to work. I was dressed in my standard Guatemalan shorts, Grateful Dead t-shirt, flip flops, mop of hair, and a Lucky Strike cigarette dangling from my lips.  »read more

Chapter 5- The Siena Hotel and My First Chef

April 25, 2017    » posted by: charlieredd

After I got canned at the bistro for sucking as a cook I picked up my sore beer-soaked head and started searching again for a place to cook. It needed to be the kind of place that cared about what they were doing but could teach me the basics. I found this and much more with Brian Stapleton at The Siena Hotel.  »read more

R.I.P. to the Prince of Light

April 22, 2016    » posted by: charlieredd

I have few regrets in life. One true regret I have is not going to the Prince concert on the Musicology tour of 2004 because I was moving to Africa and the price of the ticket could pay for me to live there for three weeks. What an idiot. I now will never get the chance.  »read more

Becoming a Chef- Chapter 4, Mondo Bistro

November 22, 2014    » posted by: charlieredd

The Culinary Institute of America in 1994 was a tough scene socially. The male to female ratio was 10-1 and most ladies put on 20-30 pounds eating classic French food in the first three months of school. The school thought they were educating the new students in how dining was supposed to be, an indicator of how behind they were with the changes in American cooking, but instead were crushing the health and palates of young people. Except for me. I was a skinny long haired hippie who needed desperately the 15 pounds to cover up the ribs and loved the heavy cooking.

Hill Farmstead, Proper Correspondence, and Why You Always Bring Something to a Dinner Party

May 30, 2014    » posted by: admin

A few years ago I was introduced to the beers of Hill Farmstead. A close friend of mine went to work with the brewer, Shaun Hill, to pick his brain about planning a brewery In Oregon that barrel aged all its beer and Hill Farmstead was setting the bar for this type of brewing. He returned with an excellent beer, stories about Shaun’s techniques and how far ahead he was of the rest of the brewers in the country.

The Incredible, Edible, Egg

March 23, 2014    » posted by: admin

A year ago I switched to eggs solely from Chip In Farm in Bedford, MA. I have driven out to Bedford every week to transport the fresh eggs personally which gives me a little time to reflect every week about the reasons why I do it. They are significantly more expensive than regular eggs but easily the most reasonable priced farm fresh eggs on the market. ( $9.95 a dozen?!! Go fuck yourself Elitist Gentleman Farmer!) I have to pick them up personally, adding to the cost, but making the connection more in depth.

Records, Details, Memories

February 19, 2012    » posted by: charlieredd

After a few days off around the holidays to reflect and evaluate where we are here at the restaurant I thought it would be fun to share about where the thought process went and is continuing to go. It all started with records.  »read more

Chapter 2: Summer Camp

July 20, 2011    » posted by: charlieredd

So where does a good Southern boy go to summer camp? Cooperstown NY, of course. No, not a baseball prodigy.I was scared of the ball. Beaver Cross was an Episcopal church camp run by the diocese of Albany that is within driving distance of my Oma's summer house in the Adirondacks where we would spend the summer. As I left the Outback with little ambitions for the summer I contacted Deacon Betty and she hired me as kitchen help for the summer. I got room and board, some scratch at the end of the summer, and got to be STAFF at the camp I went to as a kid. What else is there in life?

Chapter 1: Outback Steakhouse

June 9, 2011    » posted by: charlieredd

How did you get into cooking?

It sll started for a zitty teenager bussing tables at the hottest table in Charlotte NC in 1991, Outback Steakhouse. The Outback had just opened in what was to become a hip strip of cool small business and culture in this new money city. This is 91 though in the new South. Australian steakhouse with big oil cans of beer and you have ALL the Nascar races live? Two hour waits.  »read more

The local network, for real

May 23, 2011    » posted by: charlieredd

In opening this restaurant I have been very fortunate to be out in the hands of many other interesting Boston businesses. Local and sustainable is a lifestyle, not a fad. Where we spend our money, especially as a business, makes a big difference in the greater picture and when working with good business people, saves one money. Paying significantly more for local businesses versus the competition is debatable but I see it as charity, and in that category Partners in Health does more good then any business could ever do. if you don't know about them you should.

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