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The Philosophical Side of Cooking |
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Written by Christine St. Pierre Saturday, 01 September 2007 12:20
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In keeping with the theme of organic and green
articles in this month's issue, we wanted to find a chef that serves
predominantly organic and locally grown food and is genuinely concerned
about the imprint of his carbon footprint. We didn't have to look
further than Cambridge. Tony Maws, chef and owner of Craigie Street
Bistrot in Harvard Square, is all this and more.
His small 42-seat restaurant has been open for
five years and received local and national praise very early on. But
perhaps what's most interesting about Maws is his stance on creating
unique dishes and the ingredients that go into them. "As a chef and an
owner, I've got two things in mind - there's a quality issue and a
philosophical issue, and both of them have to come together." Maws is
quick to point out that the restaurant is not completely organic, but
he does as much as he possibly can.
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"I think ‘organic' is an important
designation for what it was originally intended to be, but it's become
such a marketing word and a sellable word, that it almost gets abused.
I try to see through that a little bit."
If the produce he uses isn't picked up at one of the farmers markets he visits regularly, it comes from local farmers whose growing practices meet his approval. Some of the farms he uses offer great products, but are not certified organic or have not gone through the certification process. "Then there are people that stamp ‘organic' on things and I don't like the quality of the product. At the end of the day, it doesn't have to say organic for me to know they're doing it the right way," he explained. At press time, Maws was hosting his first annual "Farm-Fresh Funky Feeding Frenzy," a five course dinner boasting only ingredients grown or caught within a 75 mile radius of the restaurant, accompanied by only herbs and vegetables picked within 24 hours.
There's no getting around the fact that Boston has four seasons, and certain fruits and vegetables are only available for a short amount of time. So, some ingredients must be brought in from other regions throughout the year, but Maws still must approve of the way they are grown. The wines at the restaurant are all imported from France, though not all are organic. Maws noted that he'll bring in as many wines that are organic and biodynamic, but they still have to taste really good. He and his staff provide some table-side education to guests - not just telling them they only offer French wines, but taking the time to explain the different grapes within each region and the different terroir within each region. Almost all of the meat Maws serves comes from small farms mostly from New England, and he works with two different meat co-ops out of Vermont. None of the meat he purchases comes from a mass feed lot; he stopped serving beef that way a few years ago. Either the beef says "all natural" or it comes from the farmers he knows at the co-ops and knows how they're doing things.
Maws said he often wonders why people would shop for produce organized in perfect mounds in a supermarket during the summer, when there's probably a farmers market fairly close to them. "Years ago I started walking around farmers markets and said, ‘This is so sexy, this is the real deal.' It just seemed so much more appealing on all levels - emotionally, philosophically, politically and from the culinary point of view."
With no formal culinary training, Maws attributes the time he spent cooking with his grandmother that began his love affair with food. At 15 years old, his first job was a dishwasher at a country inn on Martha's Vineyard. When a cook got fired for showing up to work hungover, Maws was told to start cooking. He graduated from the University of Michigan, and while he said he's glad he has the education behind him, he knew he wouldn't use his psychology degree. He traveled and eventually landed a job at the original East Coast Grill working for Chris Schlesinger. "I'm really lucky that I worked for some great people and I had a work ethic that helped me. I was intuitive, but also inquisitive," he explained. "I'm a product of everyone I've ever worked for." Maws noted that East Coast Grill was a great restaurant and a great environment to work in, while Schlesinger was, and still is, a huge influence and an incredible restaurateur. Maws also worked at Clio for almost three years under Ken Oringer, whom he credits for teaching him to cook with no fear and to just try stuff.
Maws likens the stresses and excitement of his job to his days of playing hockey. Coming from an athletic and competitive background, he embraces the challenge of creating unique offerings with diverse and fresh ingredients. He points out that a simple roasted chicken dish, while there's nothing wrong with that, will not be found on the menu. "We do have chicken on the menu, but we're going to have fun with it," he explained. "I think people come to Craigie Street knowing that they're going to get something they haven't tried, maybe ingredients or flavors that are unique or unfamiliar, and I think that's part of the fun."
Each morning, Maws gets a list of what's available from the local farms he works with and buys what looks good, then comes up with a meal. He noted that he won't change a dish just for the sake of changing it, since he's not the only one working at the restaurant, but if he can't find something grown right, he will take it off the menu. "If other people can't keep up, then I'm not going to be able to provide a consistent dish. I have a team of people that buy into what we're doing and how we're doing it at this restaurant, but I can't run them into the ground." He stressed that the entire team takes part in a 45-minute pre-meal to go over each reservation as well as every dish, item by item, to make sure everyone understands what's going on that day. Maws prides himself and his staff on service and knows his clientele will be asking a lot of questions about the menu each night. On working with so many unfamiliar ingredients Maws said, "We're not doing this from an arrogant or pretentious way, and we're lucky enough to have people telling us we're doing a good job."
Anyone can go into a store and buy produce with an organic sticker on it, and while it may be organic, it could have traveled 5,000 miles and that defeats the whole purpose. Maws described biting into a fruit or vegetable that's been grown right, and hasn't been out of the ground that long, as different as night and day when compared to produce that's picked before it's ripe and shipped thousands of miles. "I'm trying to serve the right food, and I have an obligation to get the best product. It's not always the easiest product, but the best. I'm going to stand behind my food." One thing Maws preaches is to make the best and right decision when you have the chance to make a decision.
On the morning we spoke with Maws, he had just received a delivery of Cubanelle peppers, but didn't yet know how he would use them in that night's dishes. "As a chef, I should be able to come up with dishes on a daily basis that I feel best showcase what we're trying to do from a quality perspective and a philosophical perspective, and I'm not going to compromise on that." We have no doubt those peppers were incorporated into something special.
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