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Situated inside Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, Bravo Restaurant’s chef Jacqueline Kelly wows her diners just as they are intrigued by the art on the museum’s walls. Her philosophy on cooking: “Keep it simple.” Her relationship with vendors allows her to use the freshest ingredients available, including vegetables picked the day before or fish that was caught the same morning. “Farms will send me what’s ripest and what was just picked,” she explained. “So, what’s available is what I use that day.” It makes you realize that painting a piece of artwork and creating a fabulous meal are quite similar.
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Q: What’s your favorite recipe and why?
Homemade ricotta cheese gnocchi. It’s simple and easy to make. The recipe was passed down to me from a chef I worked for in Manhattan. Many of us that worked for him agree that it’s still the best recipe around.
Q: What’s your favorite combination of junk food and junk TV? (and why?)
Grilled cheese and Family Guy. The show is absolutely hysterical and grilled cheese is just something that’s quick and easy to make after working 15 hours a day.
Q: Who would you like to invite to a dinner party (from history or today) and what would you serve them? (and why?)
I’m a big baseball fan, so I’d have to say Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams. I’d make them some homemade pasta and serve a nice red wine, get them talking about baseball and what their thoughts are, and just sit back and listen.
Q: What food do you hate? (and why?)
It’s not that I don’t like certain foods, but I really don’t like too much stuff on plate or when people try to overdo food. I like my food simple.
Q: What’s your favorite kitchen tool or machine? (and why?)
I have two--my Vitaprep blender and a stainless steel griddle. I have a griddle that’s great for fish and foie gras, and you get a lot fewer burns than from sauté pans.
Q: What is the hardest food for you to cook? (and why?)
We do banquets here at the restaurant, so some authentic ethnic foods are difficult for me. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s hard. Sometime we’re used to the American version of it, but you want to do it the right way for these guests.
Q: If you owned Milliway’s, “the restaurant at the end of the universe” - what would you serve as the universe’s last ever dish? (and why?)
Well, if you’re going to die anyway, I’d serve poisonous blowfish. It wouldn’t matter if I cut it the wrong way! I’d serve anything that you’re not supposed to eat. I have an allergy to mushrooms, so I may as well eat those too.
Q: Who the best chef in the world other than you or your mum? (and why?)
Well, for professional chefs, I can name 10 off the top of my head. But my aunt and cousins are absolutely great cooks. They’ll cook for 35 people in a small kitchen while they’re taking care of the kids. They have no problem cooking unbelievable stuff. They’re big foodies that love cooking and trying new things, and what they make happen in their little kitchen is just amazing.
Q: What’s your favorite cookbook? (and why?)
Alice Waters’s Chez Panisse Fruit gets your mind going and I like to use it as a reference. We also have a Culinary Series with books about Spain, Italy, Greece and France. They’re great when you need to come up with ideas, especially since our restaurant is in the museum. We have a Spanish exhibit going on, so I looked through the book about Spain, did some research on what was native to the artist’s hometown to create some special dishes.
Q: What do you have in your refrigerator?
Some yogurt, Gatorade and mini Heineken kegs left over from the Super Bowl. I don’t think the beer is good anymore, it’s just there. And I just got back from New York, so I have some bagels too.
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Chefs in the Hot Seat 
