CHEF SPOTLIGHT:
JESSICA RUDELL Chef of Tavolàta Boise
PHOTOS BY KAREN DAY
By April Neale
This fall, it's a proper homecoming for Chef Jessica Rudell, the new executive chef at Tavolàta in Downtown Boise, located in The Lucy apartment building across from the Basque Block. She's a hometown Boisean and Capital High School alum who left to attend a Portland, Oregon culinary school. She's thrilled to be back home after advancing her career and skills working for some incredibly tough chefs in Boston. "[Working in] Boston was always my five-year goal. That was the place I wanted to go. And I stayed with my sister and her family just outside Boston, where I spent six years. There, I worked for a couple of [notable] chefs and a few unknown chefs. But the main people for my education were Gordon Hamersley, who I spent three years working for, and then I worked for Barbara Lynch," Rudell said. In Seattle, Chef Jessica connected with restaurateur and entrepreneur Ethan Stowell of ESR, the owner of six Tavolàta doors. When she learned that Stowell was looking at Boise for his chain of upscale restaurants, she let him know. “As soon as you open Boise, I'm going back. Ethan knew Boise, and he saw it on the rise. He had friends here and some connections that gave him enough information to find the right home for Tavolàta," said Rudell. The restaurant officially opened in November of 2023. "We're primarily a pasta house, with four to five entrees, and all
generous portions including a one-pound New York strip and a double-cut pork chop, which is my favorite,” Rudell explained. “We will open with scallops, and it might be halibut, always what's in season." Rudell describes the ambiance as inclusive and inviting, a comfortable spot and an all-occasion setting, casual to festive and celebratory. "You're going to feel like you fit right in. We have two private dining rooms also. We've had weddings at our restaurants. Whatever you need it to be." Above all else, she promises the menu will dazzle the palate. "Tavolàta is about simple Italian, with ingredients kept local as much as we can, also with Italian products— truffles, vinegar, olive oil, and other ingredients from Italian purveyors—approachable, homey, familiar, and completely craveable," she said. All great meals should start with an appetizer, and Tavolàta and Chef Jessica figured out a way to combine Idaho and Italy. "A favorite is our smoked fish bruschetta, with crisp topped baguettes still soft in the middle, topped with a smoked salmon fish mix, aioli, chives, and shallots so you get a nice bite with some pickled red onions on top for a pop of acidity. We love our menu to be shareable for everybody," she said. Look for the famous house rigatoni, which Rudell said is not flashy, but one you’ll come back for. "It's the pasta that built the company, as we say," Rudell noted. www.idahomemagazine.com
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