Chef’s Table

Chef Frederic Kieffer Executive Chef and Greenwich Hospitality Group Partner

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In the culinary world cooking is considered the ultimate expression of love, and food, in its most pure form, is the medium by which we convey our deepest affections.

The greatest culinary leaders do this seamlessly and in the very best kitchens the food that is being prepared commands the most sincere respect. It is there, that food is considered a prized life force, meant to nourish and nurture, and to make us whole.

It’s already a thoughtful and mindful approach, and yet still, there are some chefs that do even better. Chef Frederic Keiffer is in the ranks of what I consider to be the most profound and passionate masters of cuisine, and is definitely, doing much better.

In his words, “It is a great responsibility to lead a kitchen, not only for the staff and the customers in the dining room, but for future generations. From the choices we make, with the food we buy, to our preparation and sourcing methods, we have a mission to better the world with food.”

His guiding philosophy centers around a more sustainable approach for hospitality and with each and every recipe, he blends his culinary passion with a monumentous respect for the ecosystem of food, and creates the perfect dish. Building a gastronomical platform with a moral compass is a priority within the Greenwich Hospitality Group and it is apparent, Chef Frederic is initiating a movement to transcend the experience of dining and make the world a better place to be.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST FALL IN LOVE WITH FOOD?

I would say it started pretty early in high school. I was growing up in the countryside of Paris and needed to find a job. Because there are so many restaurants in Paris, one of the easiest jobs to get was in the restaurant business. I was too young to know what I wanted to do but by the end of high school I knew I wanted to be in the kitchen. I loved being there.

I then enrolled in the Ferrandi Culinary School in Paris and spent six years in school until I earned my Masters. In culinary school in Europe you spend a good amount of time doing internships in restaurants and I had the opportunity to work for quite a few restaurants.

It was great exposure and it brought me to the United States through a student exchange program with Johnson and Wales in Providence. I went back to Paris to finish my Masters but was called back to work at C’est Si Bon in Greenwich, CT. I was supposed to stay for five or six months and it's been thirty years. I never left…

WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU FELT AN EMOTIONAL REACTION TO FOOD?

Today that happens frequently. It’s funny, I don’t remember what I ate a week ago but I remember my first meal at La Tour d’Argent in Paris. It means Silver Tower and it is the oldest restaurant in Paris. I ordered the signature dish, pressed duck, and I remember being so intrigued by the entire process. The whole bird is roasted, the legs and breast are removed and the carcass is pressed to get the juice out of the bones. There is a little pan to catch the juices and it is then served over the duck meat. There is a tradition of presenting a numbered certificate to each person who orders it. To me all of it was emotional, the food, the process, the whole experience.

WHAT ROLE DOES FOOD PLAY IN YOUR FAMILY LIFE TODAY?

Food has a central role in my family. It’s our core. We have a garden at home. My wife tends to it more than me. From April to November we do not buy anything at the store. We grow lettuce, strawberries, tomato, apples, eggplant, beans…We grow most of what we eat. When you harvest food you grow there is nothing better than that. At the end of the season we can our vegetables and use them for food in the fall and winter months. It is very satisfying.

My wife is from Europe and her parents were from a rural area of Germany, where there is a lot of farmland. Animals were part of her upbringing. She has a good understanding of where food comes from, and the origins. Cooking food from scratch, from what we grow, homemade food, was part of her family’s culture. We share the same values.

I have chickens at home, different breeds. My children are involved in raising them and gathering the eggs. It is important to me my kids learn and understand about the lifecycle of food.

We serve very limited processed food in my home, only Nutella. My kids love healthy food and they like to bring fresh sandwiches for lunch at school. If I want to punish them I make them eat at school. It's the harshest punishment they could have.

We appreciate local sources and living with a sustainable focus. In our family there is great respect for animals, food, nature, and the environment. It all starts at home for me.

HEY CHEF, WHAT DOES YOUR TABLE LOOK LIKE?

It looks like a complete table where everyone must be present. My wife, and I, and my three children are at the table. We have at least one meal together every day.

In season, our meals start with what is in the garden. We serve fresh eggs that we gather from our chickens for breakfast almost every day. On Saturdays and Sundays we make homemade crepes or waffles, and also an egg based recipe. In the summer we fish a lot and cook what we catch.

My family will always ask what is for dinner. They look forward to spending time at our table. There is a great respect for food and food is a priority. My children are open to all kinds of foods. On our table we have a lot of vegetable choices, green squash from the garden, fresh herbs, and lots of food from local farms. We always talk about food and discuss where it comes from and who is growing it.

My children are exposed to a variety of quality foods. It is very important. Our table is a place where we enjoy spending time together and we learn respect for the earth.

WHAT DOES “SUSTAINABLE HOSPITALITY” MEAN TO YOU?

The mission here is so much more than buying food and cooking it. You have to understand there is a reason for what you cook and how you cook it. I want all the chefs who work in our restaurants to understand the meaning of food and the role that it plays in the world.

To me, sustainable hospitality means you have to cook responsibly and you have to make the right decisions. Our mission at the Greenwich Hospitality Group, to better the world with food, guides me in every decision I make, in all my kitchens. We are responsible for so much more than serving food to our guests~we are responsible for the environment, the world, and the earth.

With our restaurants it all starts with local and clean food sources. Our chefs work with the local farms and know all the farmers. We know the professional foragers and the best local sources for all the food we serve on our menus. We not only buy from them but they are our friends. Relationships are important to us, our relationships with people and our relationships with nature.

One of our strongest relationships is with Gilbertie’s. It is an organic family farm in Easton, CT, started by Sal Gilbertie. Most of what we have in our gardens at our restaurants comes from Sal. I still go there every spring and load up my car with herbs and vegetables. Sal has so much knowledge; he is a great teacher and a true storyteller of food. I love our visits.

Every time I go I come away with a lot more than herbs and vegetables; I’m always learning something new about food from Sal.

Gilbertie’s was the inspiration for our superfood chopped salad. The beautiful greens and vegetables grown on the farm became the foundation for what we call The Georgette Salad at L’Escale in Greenwich, in honor of our owner, Charles Mallory’s, wife, Georgette.

The way we cook sends a message to our staff and then they bring that message out in the world. It says we need to reduce the carbon footprint and we have a responsibility not just to our guests but to the world and our environment. I think it is very important what we do.

Future generations depend on us to do the right thing, we have a story to tell and I like to think we are doing it with our food.