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La Laiterie: Three Reasons to Dine at a Restaurant Operated by a Rising Star

Posted 19 Jul 2011 — by S.E.
Category Fine Dining, Food Alert Trends

  

La Laiterie Bistro Dining Room

One of my favorite ways to experience great food is by visiting a restaurant owned by a chef whose reputation is on the rise. Matt Jennings, owner of La Laiterie and Farmstead in Providence, Rhode Island is such a chef. Jennings exhibits the three traits common among up-and-coming culinary talent; he is relentless when it comes to quality, extremely innovative, and present rather than absent on most nights at his restaurant (although he is known for hiring talent behind the stove to handle daily operations). You might think these traits are common at all great restaurants but this isn’t always the case.

Chef Matt Jennings and Chef Daniel Bolud outside the South Portico of the White House

When I first met Matt Jennings he was preparing food for a private catered event in Providence. His sleeve of tattoos reminded me of Jesse James, his size of Fernand Point. And like Point in his day, Jennings’ commitment to quality is relentless. The cheeses and salumi he served were impeccably sourced and he knew every detail about each one. He radiated emotion when speaking about certain items and explained how he was experimenting with raising his own Berkshire hogs to assure a level of consistency and quality for house-made salumi and sausage at La Laiterie. Jennings showed the same passion and commitment when I caught up with him on the south lawn of the Whitehouse in the fall of 2010. As I listened to him last October I imagined Jennings’ mind moving a mile-a-minute as he contemplates new sources and resources for food and ingredients in keeping with his mantra of honest, seasonal, handmade food. A chef who is on the rise never relaxes when it comes to ingredients and quality nor does he or she fail to produce food that is unique and innovative. Such a commitment is enduring.

 

Roasted Beet Salad, Sorrel, Pickled Beet Puree, Marcona Almonds

Innovation, in the broadest sense, means to modify something for the better; to renew or change. Jennings is one of the first chefs in Southern New England to innovate procurement of ingredients and to focus on sustainability. He and his wife and fellow chef Kate make sustainably sourced ingredients and quality a focal point at La Laiterie and have since it opened in 2006. As the restaurant has matured, the menu has evolved along with the artisan level ingredients used to produce each item. Although artisan sourcing and sustainability are not uncommon today, these practices were uncommon back in 2006 when Kate and Matt got their start. Their innovative sourcing practices have influenced a wide pool of culinary peers, this is something I really like. Another reason I like Jennings  is that he is consistently present.

 

Chestnut Trofie, Pumpkin Puree, Tallegio, Juniper, Crispy Garlic

Over the past year I have dined at more than two dozen nationally ranked restaurants where the executive chef was absent due to other commitments. What could be more important than supervising his or her own cuisine? Although I completely understand the expanded demands placed on a chef once the full attention of the public and the press is drawn it’s still disappointing to dine in a well know restaurant when the chef is absent.  Whenever I visit La Laiterie or Farmstead in Providence, Matt Jennings is there.

 

Arctic Char, Smoked Ham Broth, Autumn Vegetables, Chicarones, Manchego Cream, Shellfish

Jennings is representative of one of my favorite culinary communities, the growing number of rising star chefs in the U.S. If you visit a rising star it is likely you will discover each of the three reasons I list to be true. One way to find rising talent that is just emerging onto the national scene is to keep track of the chefs that populate the annual list of James Beard Award nominees published each March. Jennings earned a nomination this past March (2011) and I suspect he will eventually win a regional James Beard Award. Knowing Jennings, such an award will not change his approach to culinary arts, but there is always a risk.

Farmstead Counter

Three Reasons to Dine at a Restaurant Operated by a Rising Star Chef:

1)     A rising star chef relentlessly pursues quality because s/he burns with the desire to become a member of the community of varsity chefs in the U.S. as a matter of pride, professionalism, and accomplishment

2)     A rising star chef is innovative as a means for differentiating his/her self and as a strategy to uniquely satisfy the
ever-changing cravings of a public that is obsessed with food

3)     A rising star chef is consistently present rather than absent out of financial necessity and personal concern and commitment

 

La Laiterie Bistro

 184-188 Wayland Avenue

Providence, RI 02906

401-274-7177

The Dorrance: Providence, R.I.

Posted 14 Dec 2011 — by S.E.
Category Fine Dining

SEATING AT THE DORRANCE

When Travel & Leisure Magazine named Providence, Rhode Island the third best city for foodies in the country this past September I smiled. The city has more than its fair share of excellent restaurants and is gaining influence nationally as a food destination. It helps that hundreds of Johnson & Wales University culinary students reside in the city while earning a degree and a number remain upon program completion to work with a local chef or pursue a dream of owning a fine restaurant. Ben Sukle of The Dorrance, a newly opened restaurant in the city center is a perfect example of this phenomenon.

When I bumped into Ben Sukle in New York this past October he was helping Alex Talbot of Ideas in Food deliver a culinary demonstration. Talbot prepared a rack of venison roasted on juniper branches that were foraged by Sukle back in the Ocean State. After the demonstration Ben and I chatted and he told me he was just a few days from opening The Dorrance as Chef de Cuisine. Sukle is over six feet tall, in his mid-twenties with a graceful yet boyish demeanor. He is a 2008 graduate of Johnson & Wales University and served as Chef de Cuisine under owner Matt Jennings at La Laiterie bistro in the Wayland Square neighborhood of Providence prior to departing to find his own path. After La Laiterie he made his way to Noma in Copenhagen for some inspiration. The juniper branches under venison are a perfect representation of the modern Nordic aesthetic of Chef René Redzepi of Noma, a chef who earlier in his own career completed a similar stint with Chef Ferran Adrià. In 2010 Noma displaced Adrià’s El Bulli as the best restaurant in the world; apprentice displaced master.

CEILING DETAIL, THE DORRANCE RESTAURANT

When I visited The Dorrance it had been open for just two weeks. Ben was still working out the restaurants kinks with a limited staff and long hours in the kitchen. The menu reflected a range of interesting combinations including beef brisket with snails and turnip; smoked beef tongue with chilis and pickled green tomato; and roasted dry aged duck with beets, kohlrabi, and quince. This isn’t typical Rhode Island cuisine but it is Ben’s cuisine. The influence of Chef Redzepi is clear but that influence is grounded in a local farm and ocean to table mentality and a hand-crated approach.  

THE DORRANCE BAR

Travel & Leisure mentioned the “boat to table” focus of Providence restaurants when it ranked the city third in the country and Sukle continues the tradition by offering a perfect pan roasted porgy (Scup) with pole beans, potatoes and salsa verde. Porgy are plentiful in local waters, have a wonderful white flesh and offer a sustainable alternative to other white fish species that under pressure. It’s nice that Sukle is willing to take the risk and feature sustainable species like scup; he also offers local scallops. Welcome to the Ocean State.

In the kitchen, Sukle uses modern cooking techniques and his plate presentations unveil the diversity of options and creativity when cooking sous vide. He also cures and pickles various meats and vegetables and air-dries his own duck breast for the duck entrée. Although still a work in progress, his Avant-garde cuisine stands out in the local marketplace and adds a new dimension to the Rhode Island restaurant scene. That Providence was ranked third is a testament to the many established and emerging chefs in the city. As the next generation of chefs like Sukle ply their trade in the city has much to look forward to.

SMOKED BEEF TONGUE, ROASTED CHILIS, PICKLED GREEN TOMATOES, ROMESCO

ROASTED DRY-AGED DUCK, BEETS, KOHLRABI, QUINCE PUREE

LAMB, ROASTED EGGPLAN, CAULIFLOWER, ROASTED PEPPER

PANNA COTTA CARAMEL

THE DORRANCE

60 DORRANCE ST.

PROVIDENCE, RI 02903

401-521-6000