6 Bites of Food Wisdom from a Chef


We asked Chef Frederic Kieffer, from Artisan in Connecticut, to share some insights and tips for preparing this menu, entertaining at home, and the importance of locally sourced foods.

You aren't running a restaurant. Keep it relaxed and informal.
The difference is that even though you want it to be the same, the standards are not the same. It is more casual at home; you can use one set of silverware! In a restaurant, there are a couple of steps of service that you cannot skip. But at home it can be just be relaxed and informal.

Stop worrying so much about timing.
The main thing is that there is no time pressure, whenever it's ready it's ready … and you also care a little bit less about the presentation. You can have more of a family-style meal … but the main thing is there is no time pressure. If you have to wait 10 extra minutes for it to be done, you'll wait.

Be flexible when choosing vegetables.
Just open your eyes when you go into the produce aisle. The only thing that you have to know is that the vegetables have to be cut down to the same size and that they require the same cooking time. That's the only rule. For example, if you were to use quince or chestnuts, those would have to be cooked ahead since they have longer cooking times.

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The perfect dessert has a mixture of texture.
The mix of texture makes this dessert so special: the creaminess of the baked apple, the graininess of the pear, the burst of the blueberry, the scoop of blueberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream all come together wonderfully. Once again it's about the fruit themselves and not so much about added spices. Get the Pear and Apple Cobbler With Almond Topping recipe.

Embrace the farm-to-table movement.
The thing that motivates us (and I think I speak for a lot of restaurateurs) is that it is not a fashion trend; I have been doing this for many years. Why? First of all, [locally sourced food] tastes much better. The second thing is the health component. Just look at what's been happening over the last 30 years: If you look at conventional produce grown with fertilizer, pesticides, chemicals … those things are passed on to us and can be linked to many of the diseases that we have today. So there is the health aspect to the farm-to-table philosophy as well.

Plus:
Get the full farm-to-table menu.
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