Q&A with Executive Chef Adam Greenberg

1. What was the first meal you remember cooking and around what age?
Pizzas with my stepfather when I was around 8.

2. What is the most versatile ingredient you have cooked with?
Thyme.

3. Name three ingredients that everyone should always have on hand.
Kosher salt, coriander, thyme.

4. Other than cooking, what are you passionate about?
Sports and music.

5. Do you have a favorite vacation spot? Describe it.
I just went to L.A. and loved it.

6. If you had to compare cooking to another job or activity, what would it be and why?
Racecar driving. It’s fast, you have to think quickly and it can be chaotic.

7. What is the best advice you have ever received?
“Perception is reality” from the corporate executive chef at the Capital Grille.

8. Describe yourself in three words.
Passionate, loud and loyal.

9. What is your perfect weekend?
What’s a weekend? I just like to get through good service and make it out alive.

10. Do you have a guilty pleasure (ex. Reality television)?
Ice cream and reality TV. I love Chelsea Lately.

11. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A lack of follow through.

12. Where is your dream place to live?
NYC, but only with enough money to live there comfortably.

13. Is there a time of your life that you wish you could re-live?
I’m happy where I am now.

14. What is your favorite season and why?
Spring or fall. I lived away from the Northeast and I really missed the changing of the seasons. Cuisine is better with seasonal foods and it makes cooking more fun.

15. What was your worst job?
Being a private chef for a family in Greenwich.

16. What is your favorite holiday?
Christmas which is ironic because I’m Jewish. I just like everything it represents.

17. It’s a rainy day out. What do you do?
Hang out with my fiancée and my dog. Watch movies, clean, do laundry.

18. Do you prefer beer or wine?
Cocktails. I like Manhattans or anything with bourbon, whiskey or scotch.

19. Do you have a favorite sports team?
Red Sox, Celtics and the UConn Huskies

20. What would be the one thing you’d want everyone to know about you?
I am extremely dedicated to people who have helped me get where I am today. Or, that I am nicer than people may think.

21. What is your favorite meal?
BBQ brisket and collard greens

22. What is your favorite quote?
“The most important ingredient is passion.” I have it tattooed on my arm.

Pie Franco vineyards of Verdejo at Blanco Nieva in Rueda.

The winery was beautiful, simple and rustic, yet comfortable at the same time. It was like being in the home of someone who just happened to also make delicious wine. Our guide was Manuel Gonzalez, the winery owner’s son. First we did a tasting and then a tour of their Pie Franco vineyards, which has 150 year old pre-phylloxera vines..amazing!

It was clear that, for them, it was all about the vineyards. For wines that are so expressive, their vinification process was surprisingly simple. Manuel explained that they focus on getting better every year and making the most perfect quality of grapes at a low cost, so that everyone can enjoy them. No wonder we love their wines so much at Barcelona, it all sounded very familiar. After the tour we sat down to a delicious lunch, with probably the best suckling pig we had all trip.

Tradtional suckling pig roast at Blanco Nieva in Rueda.

Next, we took the beautiful drive towards Madrid and our next winery Bernabeleva… we almost made it. A driver-who-shall-remain-nameless got into a slight fender bender when we were about a minute away. When we called to let them know we would be a few minutes late, they insisted on coming to meet us to help out. Our friends at the winery showed up within minutes, and while it was not the most ideal way to meet our hosts they were happy to help out.

Most of the group headed over to the winery while the accident was being sorted out. Within minutes of arriving, Marc the winemaker went to a mini fridge and cracked and distributed a couple of 40s…I knew it was going to be an interesting visit!

This is what bio-diversity looks like, at Bernabeleva.

Bernabeleva is mainly a garnacha producer, although they also produce albillo and some moscatel. Their 35 hectares of vines are fairly spread out, so we divided up to take the tour. We got into three vehicles, a BMW SUV, an old pick-up truck, and a converted ambulance that they got from an old insane asylum. These vehicles represented the three guys well, to say the least.

The vineyards at the winery have crazy names like “kung foo” and “taxi driver,” and are covered in wild flowers and herbs. They tend their plots according to moon phases and every one is vinified separately to make wines that express their specific terroir. After our tour they “condemned us to the eternal barrel tasting” where we got to see the variation from plot to plot.

The gang of Bernabeleva

They set up an enormous spread of meats and cheese on a big foldout table in the middle of the winery, while grilling up morcilla and aged steaks on a charcoal grill. We hung out for the rest of the night and ate and drank while listening to Led Zeppelin on an old boombox.

For how vastly different the two visits were, I will remember the genuine hospitality most.

We left beautiful San Sebastian around 10am to head into Rioja, following winding mountain roads in the dryer, less mountainous terrain. We arrived in Haro, one of the first towns to start making commercial wines and the third town to get electricity in Europe. Our tour began with Rioja Alta, which was founded in 1890.

We toured through the facility, which has been continuously making wine since its inception. The original fermentation tanks still exist although all fermenting takes place off site. Wine in barrel and bottle are aged here and we got a chance to tour the massive barrel rooms where workers rack barrels to control quality and sediment.

They use techniques similar to those originally used. All La Rioja Alta wines are aged longer than most Rioja producers in barrel and bottle.

After the tour we were led to an enormous tasting and reception area that houses the oldest wine club in Spain, which started at La Rioja Alta. With our host, the group tasted all wines made by the winery including wines from Rias Baixas and Ribera del Duero.

We then enjoyed an amazing lunch of chicken croquetas, a traditional hearty soup of potatoes and chorizo, and lamb cooked over coals from grape vines cooked in the traditional dining room. We finished with a taste of the Orujo de Galicia (Spanish Grappa).

Our second winery was across the street at R. Lopez de Heredia vina Tondonia. A winery founded 1877 that still does things as they always have, R. Lopez still uses the same presses, fermentation tanks and underground cellars that are indescribable. They make all barrels on site and let nature do the work. They don’t try to fix what isn’t broken.

The interior of the aging rooms and cellars are covered in a thick, black, spongy mold. There are ancient cobwebs in every corner. The place teems with life and energy. Barrels are everywhere, with unlabeled bottles covered in mold tucked into every available space.

We ventured into the graveyard, the family’s private tasting area and through a labyrinth of tunnels filled with wine. We caught a brief glimpse of the vineyards across the river from the winery while we followed the path of the grapes. After the tour we were able to taste through all of the R. Lopez wines with our fabulous hostess Alvera. She shared a bottle of 1981 Tondonia, which was the highlight wine of the trip.

The tours were a truly memorable experience. After Haro, we drove to Logrono, a town mentioned everyday throughout the trip. After a brief siesta, we toured through the town stopping at tapas bars and enjoying traditional bites while sipping vermouth, canas of beer and wine.

Join us for Fairfield’s first barbeque blowout of the season. Have fun in the sun on our patio or at our garden table. This fun-filled family event will feature:

• A delicious buffet of the best from our grill and kitchen. From sliders, kebabs, ribs and suckling pig to grilled vegetables and assorted salads, there’s something for everyone
• Live performance from Rick Reyes & The Pasonfino Social Club from 2:00pm – 6:00pm
• Captain Lawrence Brewery beer tastings
• Face painting for the kids 1:30pm – 4:30pm
• A lemonade, popsicle and ice-cream stand
• Outdoor games
• And more….

Buffet is $20/adult, $10/child.

Brian and Hartin taking in Getaria, (Pais Vasco), Spain (and shaking off jet lag).

On our second day in Spain we stared out the day by tasting some “ funny wine.”  Yes, “funny wine” because that is how the winemaker at the Ameztoi winery referred to their wines. The reason being is because after a few sips, he noticed that the visitors tend to become a bit “ funny.” And so it was true, after a few sips the inappropriate jokes and awkward laughs started to happen.

"Txakoli is funny wine. When you drink enough, everyone starts to laugh," says the winemaker at Bodegas Ameztoi, producer of Getariako Txakolina wines in Pais Vasco, Spain.

That all came to an end once we were presented with the wine we were all so anxious to try, Rubentis. Rubentis is a sparkling rose that came into our Barcelona world a few years ago and we all fell in love with it. For the time being, we don’t carry it so I was super excited to try some, even though it was 10:00am. The winery is small but has a lot of history. Being five generations deep and located at the top of a mountain overlooking the town of Getaria, Xakolina is the wine to drink around here.

Pergola trained vines on steep rolling hills is the trend in Getariako Txakolina.

Traveling on the coast, the seafood is amazing. Whole fish such as hake and turbot are grilled on the parrillas and served simply with olive oil and sea salt. The fish was definetly one of the most amazing things I had to eat here, and it was the simplest thing. No need for fancy ingredients when the fish is so fresh, accompanied by cold Xakolina wine and the oceanfront at your view.

Grilled turbot with lemon, oil and garlic at the Mayflower, Getaria, (Pais Vasco), Spain.

The day was just beginning. After the winery, we jumped into our cars and headed for a small town called Ondarroa. One of our party members, Laurence, who later received the nicknamed “Lead Foot Larry” for his love for speed on the windy roads was doing the driving. I don’t know if it was the funny wine or the fact that we had a delicious lunch waiting for us, but he was determined to get us there.

The parilla at the Mayflower, Getaria, (Pais Vasco), Spain.

We finally arrived to the small fishing town where the anchovy and tuna factory, Conservas Ortiz, is located. But first we had to have lunch. We started out with salted anchovies and boquerones and then grilled flounder and monk fish with potatoes.

Monkfish and potatoes, a traditional lunch with Conservas Ortiz.

After lunch, we headed to the factory right up the road. Tradition is the word here. The factory workers have all been there for over 20 years and almost all of them were women. The reason being is because that is how it was back in the day.

All the products made at Conservas Ortiz.

The men went to fish and the women stayed back to clean and prepare the fish. Even the techniques they used to cut and clean the tuna were simple and mostly done by hand. Another reason why the women did the cleaning of the anchovies was because they found that men were too rough and often would ruin the anchovies.

Cleaning the tuna after cooking at Conservas Ortiz.

We had a chance to clean some anchovies ourselves, but we were no match to the women that were doing them also. We were unable to see the fresh anchovies that day because they hadn’t caught any but we did see them in the fermentation process.

Laurence taking a stab at cleaning anchovies for packing at Conservas Ortiz.

The night came to an end with hopping around some tapas bars in St.Sebastian and having some more of that “ funny wine.” Gin & tonics were the drink of choice and small canas of beer did the trick when bouncing from place to place. There were so many more memorable days ahead of us with so much great food. One of the things I definetly brought back with me was the raw hospitality we received on our visits. NO was never the answer. Our hosts catered to our every need and even did little extra things like showing us their kitchens or parrillas or even their incredible wine cellars. My standard on hospitality has diffidently moved up a few notches.

Gintonics at A Fuego Negro in San Sebastian.

After a long flight and 6 hour time change, we finally made our way to our first destination, Getaria, a beautiful port town in Basque Country not far from the French border. Here, we stretched our legs by strolling down a narrow street with little shops including Salanort, a little seafood shop with cold rose and fresh seafood tapas.

After that refreshment, we made our way to the waterside where several restaurants with open air grills line the water’s edge. Once we settled at our waterside table, we were presented with a selection of fresh catch of the day. We chose turbot and hake collar. The coolest part of my day was making the selection and watching them take it straight to the grill for preparation. They used these really cool ‘baskets’ to cage the fish on the grill for easier flipping. I’d love to see a few of these baskets on the Fairfield patio for grill season!

That evening we made our way to San Sebastian and ate at a restaurant called Rekondo. Wow. What an amazing wine cellar! My favorite, of course, was the 1978 La Rioja Alta, my birth year. After enjoying some incredible food and wine, we made our way down to the cellar. The cellar housed incredible product including wine from the 1880s and a bottle of 1893 Mouton-Rothschild! What a great way to kick off the week in Spain!

Barcelona Wine Bar will be raising their very own honey bees.

A few weeks ago we were approached by Tim Cernigilia, a beekeeper from Greenwich and a disciple of Andrew Cote, asking us if we wanted to raise bees on the rooftops of our restaurants, to have our very own honey. Of course, I jumped at this opportunity. I mean, why would anyone not want to raise honey bees. What with all their benefits…

After talking with Andy and Tim, we decided it would be best if we raised the bees off-site instead of raising them at each location. I would not want one of our guests to get stung by a bee! Ouchy!  Instead, we installed the hives at my farm and together Tim, the beekeeper, and I will raise the bees for Barcelona.

How bees come when they are shipping in the mail.

Now, I am no expert beekeeper. In fact, I don’t know much about raising them. For that, you will have to go to the experts:

Andrew Cote, “the industry’s legend” and fourth generation bee keeper from CT can teach you all that you need to know. I was introduced to him by Lori Cochran from the Westport Farmer’s Market  – an introduction I absolutely value. Andrew’s honey come from roof tops, balconies, community gardens, in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.

Fairfield County’s very own Maria Marchese, founder of Red Bee should be your first stop if purchasing local honey. Marina is changing the way people think about honey. A former interior designer, Marina is now a bee keeper, author and honey sommelier. Red bee offers an array of all natural skin care products and several different kinds of honey, blue berry blossom, wildflower honey and clover honey just to name a few.

Dumping the bees into the hive

Here is what I would like to share with you:

Three reasons why I encourage people to raise their own bees:-

1.  Honey. Did you know that one honey bee will make 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in her life time, which is about 6 weeks? But a beehive can get you up to 60 lbs. of honey in one season. Consuming honey has many health benefits like, creating a resistance to allergies, improving the immune system, promoting good body and digestive health, just to name a few. Honey is also an incredible antioxidant.

2.  Wax. Bees convert their food into wax. There are many uses for bees wax. Candles, cosmetics, creams, lipstick and lip balm for example.

3.  Pollination. Did you know that according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cornell, bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value in the U.S. and honey bees are responsible for approx. 80% of all fruit, vegetable and seed crops. Without them, no pollinations and no food.

Installing the bees

Beeswax is a natural anti-inflammatory and antiseptic and works wonders in lip balm. Here’s how I make my lip balm at home:

All you need is some good oil (almond, grape seed, coconut or olive are my favorite) and some beeswax. You can get this from a health food store or a local beekeeper.

Mix 1 tablespoon beeswax to 3 tablespoons of oil. Slowly warm it up to melt it. You can use a double boiler, a microwave on low or in a warm oven stirring occasionally. After it has melted, pour into a tin box or an old lip balm container to set. I sometimes add a couple drops of honey to add a flavor to it or a couple drops of raspberry extract. You can add whatever flavor you want.

The hive

Raising bees requires minimal work. Unlike other farm animals, they can feed themselves; clean their own hives, fetch water, and make their own food. They even patch their own leaky roofs. Honey bees are a mysterious because they have remained unchanged for millions of  years even though the world has changed around them.

This is how the queen bee is delivered

Another byproduct of beehives are honeycombs. Honeycombs are hexagonal wax cells built by honey bees within their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen. Typically, beekeepers remove the entire honeycomb to harvest the raw honey. Sometimes, the fresh new honeycombs are eaten intact.

Chef Helton, at our Fairfield Barcelona, serves a piece of raw honeycomb with some Cana de Cabra (goat cheese) and roasted walnuts.

Close-up of the bees

How do you enjoy your honey?

If you feel inspired to have your own hives, look up the Backyard Beekeepers Association and ask for Leslie Huston.

Stay tuned. I will be sharing the developments of the hives as the season progresses.

Here are some fun facts about bees I thought you may enjoy.
• A hive can consist of about 100,000 bees
• The queen is the sole female in the hive with fully developed organs, making her the only bee in the hive that can lay eggs
• A honey bee has to travel over 55,000 miles and visits approx. 2 million flowers to make 1 pound of honey
• Honeybees fly about 10 miles per hour
• Honeybee colonies have unique odors that are checked at the door, like ID cards, so the guard bees can recognize the entering bees and give them permission to enter
• 

About 5 to 7 pounds of honey are consumed by bees to produce 1 pound of beeswax.

• Honey bees will usually travel approximately 3 miles from their hive to gather nectar and pollen.
•

 A honeybee flaps its wings about 11,400 times per minute
• The “buzz” that you hear is the bee’s way of letting you know that it is agitated.
• Honeybees are the only kind of bees that die after they sting a person
• 

Honeybees are vegetarian when they forage for nectar and pollen, but can eat their own brood when stressed
• Honey helps heal and combats infections
• Honey does not go bad – EVER

Round one (left), Squid bodies as fresh as they come (right):

Beautiful San Sebastian:

82’ Gran Reserva Monte Reale provided by Resto Rekondo at San Sebastian (left), Ameztoi Winery- Waiting to be bottled (right):

Ameztoi Winery- Also in barrels (left), Tuna! (right):

Anchovy and Tuna factory:

Dinnertime in Spain (left), Gintonics: A recurring theme in San Sebastian (right):

Morels, chanterelles, artichokes and porcinis. Nice Spread Spain! (left), morning in Spain (right):

Lunch in Rioja Alta:

For more Spain pictures, be sure to check out Chef Shane’s Twitter.

One of the latest joys I have found in back yard farming and homesteading is raising ducks. They are a delight! I grew up around ducks and still today I’m amazed at how affectionate ducks can be. They’re funny and entertaining animals with big personalities, and are beautiful to watch.

Ducks are not hard to raise and I am surprised that raising ducks has not become popular here in America. Even in Bombay, most hutments in the Portuguese settlements around where I lived had a flock of ducks wandering the alleys. It was common to see them (and it was also common to eat them). Roasted, dried, fried and even in a curry. Delicious!

When you think of raising a backyard flock, you automatically think of raising chickens. This seems to have become the suburban pastime in America, so common these days you can even order a chicken coop on Amazon.

duck in the snow

However, Europeans and Asians have been raising ducks in their backyards for centuries and for good reason. Ducks are heartier, stronger, and provide more eggs and meat per bird as compared to a chicken, making them easier and more cost effective to raise.

There aren’t a lot of duck farmers in Connecticut, but that number is on the rise. One farmer I’ve become good friends with and respect a lot is Mr. Dahil, of MarWin Farm in New Hartford CT. Mr. Dahil is a fun-loving farmer with an experimental tendency. One time he fed half his herd parsley just to see how that flavor would affect the flavor of the meat. And it did! Recently, Yale scientist and researchers visited his  farm to study the molecular aspects of duck physiology; to learn how they eat, how they find their food, what tells them good food from bad food… very interesting stuff. Marwin Farms has been around for a long time and they also have partridge, quail and guinea hogs. In fact, they have one of only 100 male guinea hogs left in the world.

Here are two of Chef Scott’s dishes in Stamford, using MarWin Farms ducks. Left is Duck Pinxtos with pickled onion, and Duck liver Bilbao style on the right:

Another person I’d like to mention is a new backyard farmer, 13-year-old Charlie Colasurdo, from Westport, CT.  He has been reading about ducks his entire life and has attended farm camp every summer for the past 7 summers. Now, he apprentices at my farm to gain practical knowledge and skills. Charlie knows all the breeds and their characteristic off the top of his head. I am actually envious of this fact. This month he will officially become a duck herder.

Farm Camp

There are duck breeds for egg laying, meat production, and, for those interested in both, there are dual-purpose breeds. Each breed has different characteristics that define it. While some may grow fast for meat or egg production, others take their time and are good mothers.

Most dual-purpose breeds are quite calm and sensible, better suited to the backyard flock than extreme egg or meat producing ducks.

Charlie’s flock will be diverse, and will consist of Khaki Campbells (known for their egg productions and superb foraging skills), Welsh Harliquins (because they are friendly and are good egg layers), and Black Swedish (known for being hearty and having excellent mothering skills).

Ducks are not high-maintenance and end up foraging a good portion of their food. They eat insects, slugs, snails, seeds, weeds, and grass. Left to forage, a duck with consume 90% of vegetable matter and greenery and 10% of protein in the form or snails, slugs etc.  This makes them great exterminators and natural pest control agents in the field or garden. This varied feeding allows for a more complex flavor of their meat and eggs.

Duck and the chickens

These birds forage a larger amount of their diets than chickens do, saving money on feed. They also eat a larger variety of it. So when times are hard and there is no money for feed, ducks are able to survive for longer periods of time just on foraging and table scraps than chickens are able to.  Ducks love to eat sand and pebbles, which helps with the grinding of food.

In your backyard, it’s important to supplement the ducks’ foraged food with non-treated, non-medicated layer pellets, which help with providing all the nourishment needed to lay eggs.

If feeding ducks fresh vegetables, it’s important to break them up into tiny pieces because ducks are not able to break up food with their bills (beaks) like chickens are able to do.

Duck and cat made friends

Ducks are social animals and need the company of others ducks, so never keep a duck alone. Also, they have a natural flock instinct that allows them to be easily herded.

Contrary to popular belief, ducks do not need a pond to swim in. However, they simply love the water. What they DO NEED plenty of drinking water. Ducks tend to alternate drinking and eating because the water helps flush down the food. It also helps clean out their nostrils. They actually blow bubbles out of their nostrils – it’s quite funny to watch.  I provide my ducks with a trough of water that they can jump into and wade and splash about in. Then, I recycle this water into the garden.

An injured duck

Ducks will make a muddy mess with their water, so if you would like to maintain your field/yard, then it’s best to place their water source on some gravel. Old bathtubs make a great splashing place for the backyard duck. You can simply attach a pipe to the drain and lead it to a flowerbed or vegetable garden. Your veggies will love this nutrient rich water.

Duck do not require extravagant housing like chickens do. They prefer to stay out day and night. However, if you have predators, you will need to lock them up at sundown. Also, they do need shelter from the wind, rain and snow. A simple shed will suffice. A deep layer of hay and wood shavings will be required for nesting. My duck coop was made from old pallets.

My duck coop

Ducks will continue to lay eggs for most of the year, giving you one egg per day. Duck lays her egg before 8:00am in the morning in the same spot. A duck egg is about 30% larger than a chicken’s egg. Also, ducks lay more consistently than chickens, laying up to 340 eggs a year. Furthermore, they will produce longer than a chicken, well into a fifth season, and long after chicken hens are ready for the stew pot.

If you’re worried about whether those eggs will taste “weird” or not work in your recipes, never fear. Ducks fed a healthy balance of layer pellets and forage will produce an egg that tastes similar to a fresh chicken egg and which provides better loft in baked goods.

Duck eggs

Unless you want to breed, it’s best not to have a drake (a male duck). Females lay better without constant mating and the eggs are stronger when they are not fertile.

Ducks mature faster than chickens do and can go from duckling to your plate in 10 weeks. They also start laying eggs earlier than hens do making them more cost productive to raise.

I hope this blog has intrigued you enough to start raising ducks in your backyard! If you have any questions, email me at fmasani@barteca.com

Q: What is the first meal you remember cooking?
A: Probably scrambled eggs when I was around 7 years old.

Q: What are you passionate about besides cooking?
A: I try to conduct my life with a certain degree of passion and it crosses over into everything I do. I like to work hard, but I like to play as hard as I work.

Q: What is the best advice you ever received?
A: Probably from Yoda: “Do or do not. There is no try.”

Q: Who is your role model?
A: My dad. Also, Michel Bras who is a great chef from France.

Q: If you had a year off and could spend that time doing anything, what would you do?
A: Travel the world.

Q: Do you prefer a night out or a night in?
A: Night out, maybe to East Coast Grill in Cambridge.

Q: What is your favorite movie?
A: Tombstone or There Will Be Blood.

Q: What is your guilty pleasure?
A: I love Real Housewives of Orange County.

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
A: General disorder and disorganization. Or unprofessionalism.

Q: Do you prefer beer, wine or cocktails?
A: All of the above!

Q: Where is your favorite place you have traveled?
A: Glacier National Park was really amazing. I also really enjoyed Thailand and I love France. France is probably my favorite place.

Q: What is your favorite sports team?
A: The New England Patriots, my father-in-law has season tickets.

Q: What is the one thing you can’t live without?
A: My wife.

Q: What is one of your favorite memories?
A: When I was traveling in Thailand I went on a boat trip to this tiny, remote island. They dropped us off for two hours alone on this remote white sand beach. It was quiet, beautiful and perfect.

Q: If you weren’t a chef, what could you see yourself doing?
A: Maybe a teacher. Or a ski instructor or golf pro; any job that would be low pressure and relaxing.

Q: If you could have any super power what would it be?
A: Everyone wants to fly, right?

Q: What are three ingredients a chef should always have?
A: Garlic, salt and olive oil.

Q: How would you compare cooking to another job?
A: I would say it is a mix between being a chemist and being a rock star. You get to be at the center of everything using basic elements to create great dishes.

Q: What would be your perfect weekend?
A: I think a perfect weekend is spending one day doing everything possible and one day doing nothing at all.

Q: What is your favorite season?
A: Spring. It starts getting warm out and everything starts growing again. It makes it fun for cooking after using winter ingredients.

Q: Where is your favorite place to shop?
A: Kitchen Arts and Letters. It’s a store in New York City that sells only cookbooks.

Q; What do you do on a rainy day?
A: Maybe cook dinner, watch movies and relax. Or go to a bar or out with my friends. I don’t let the rain stop me from doing anything.

Q: What is your favorite meal?
A: A really good burger and fries. Eastern Standard in Boston makes a great burger. Or sushi.

Q: What is your favorite quote?
A: I had a chef that used to always yell at me in French to move my ass, so probably that.

Q: What was your most memorable moment working at Barcelona so far?
A: I was working here for about two weeks and filling in, in Stamford. None of my cooks showed up that night so I spent the night on the line with Andy Pforzheimer and Adam Halberg all night. We made it work.