JP: When did you start in the industry and why did you become a chef?
AS: 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.
JP: Culinary highlights:
AS:
• 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.
JP: What chefs influenced you the most?
AS:
• Alain Passard for sure
• 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.
JP: If you could keep only three culinary books, what would they be?
AS: 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.
JP: Favorite kitchen gadget(s)
AS: Other than my knives, a little hand-held mandolin.
JP: Most memorable dining experience:
AS: 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.
JP: Favorite ‘elbows on the table hole in the wall’
AS: 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.
JP: A food item you hate to admit to liking:
AS: Mortadella
JP: Three things in fridge right now:
AS: A bottle of champagne; homemade pancetta; a chunk of Reggiano.
JP: Secret junk food indulgence:
AS: I have to think hard on this but I do occasionally enjoy those dried Japanese peas coated in wasabi powder.
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