CHEF NICK CHINDAMO

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Q. If your culinary journey had a theme song, what would it be and why?

New Morning - Bob Dylan. If you’ve ever worked in a kitchen, you know that no matter how bad the night before was - the next day is like hitting the reset button. A fresh start. That also goes for how good the night before was. The next day will likely be entirely different.

Q. What’s the wildest ingredient you’ve ever experimented with in one of your dishes?

Entomology has been a major subject of study for me in recent years. I still remember the first true colony of Carpenter Ants that I came acrossin the Point Prim area. I agitated the mound - until the ants began to move erratically - and popped five or six of them into my mouth. They exploded with a sour, slightly mushroom-y flavour - and I was mind blown. They made the menu (in a rather provocative way) that evening.

Q. If you could invite three historical/ famous figures to a dinner party at your restaurant, who would they be and what would you serve them?

Aldo Leopold - the father of modernday conservation.

Wilson

Rawls - the author of “Where the Red Fern Grows.” Rachel Carson - credited with catalyzing the global environmental movement and launching a full-blown war against pesticide use in North America.

What would I feed them? A slow, elaborate menu of wild foodsprepared simply and with intention. Young Milkweed shoots with Invasive Green Crab sauce. Raw PEI Matsutake with Fir oil. Bread made with local, fermented grains. Black Locust blossoms - sprayed with a tea made from their leaves and cambium. Snowshoe Hare with pickled Bracken Fern. Striped Bass collar with Coastal Arrowgrass and Sea Truffle vinegar. Wapato cooked in Sweetgrass. A bowl of warm Cloudberries and cream.

Q. What was the defining moment in your life that sparked your passion for becoming a chef and how has that passion evolved throughout your career?

I think about this a lot - and I’m not sure that I have a single answer. I always seem to revert to memories of my grandparents. My grandfather used to pick grapes that he had trellised over a few pieces of wood and wash them in a small sink that he set up in the middle of the garden. He’d take them inside, and my grandmother would peel them (for some reason) - one by one. Whenever I find myself dreading the monotony of peeling onions in the kitchen for hours at a time, I think of my grandmother peeling grapes at the table so that we could fill our faces for a few seconds.

Q. If you were a vegetable, which one would you be, and why?

Mark Twain once said, “A Cauliflower is just a cabbage with an education.” How about a Cauliflower? A highly underrated vegetable - mostly due to a lack of creativity and understanding by the person handling it. It’s really a blank canvas!

Q. What’s your guilty pleasure when it comes to food? Any surprising indulgences?

High quality canned fish. Full stop!

Q. If you had to create a signature dish inspired by the vibrant colors and scenery of PEI, what would it be called, and what ingredients would it feature?

A tart shell made of potato fermented in sea water, filled with an emulsion of wild oyster, and covered with a collection of preserved wild plants. Visually modest - with basic colours of green, white, and brown - but exploding with flavours that remind you of pink and purple fields of Dame’s Rocket and South shore red-dirt coves. The name? Home.

Q. Have you ever had any strange or funny requests from customers when it comes to their meals?

It’s always strange when someone with a “severe allergy to shellfish” decides that they’ll have the clams. You’d be surprised at how quickly an allergy will shift to a “well i just don’t really like that…” - and how frequently it happens.

Q. If you could steal a recipe from any famous chef in the world without getting caught, whose would it be, and why?

Massimo Battura’s dish that featured local fish and dehydrated sea watermade to look like a piece of crumpled paper floating in the ocean.

This dish is the epitome of how a highlevel chef should think about creating dishes. Use food to tell a story and make a point. In this case, he uses the plate to educate the diner on polluted waters and the negative impact that our food systems are having on certain fish stocks.

Q. What’s the most outrageous foodrelated challenge or dare you’ve ever accepted?

I once competed on a television show that involved cooking with the world’s hottest chilies. I like heat as much as the next person - but come on… really?

Q. If you were to create a menu inspired by PEI’s history and culture, what dishes would make the cut?

I could spend the next six hours answering this question. There are so many layers to it. To put it simply, I would divide the province into small sections/ microclimates and cook a dish using only the local flora and fauna of that area - and using only traditional methods and techniques learned from locals and historical literature.

Q What trends do you see emerging in the culinary world, and how do you stay innovative and relevant in your cooking?

Here’s a good one; UNDERexplanation. It’s often encouraged in restaurants to put food down in front of a guest and recite a few words that vaguely explain what it is. I encourage those around me to do the opposite. Talk deeply with the guest about the food. Tell them everything. Full transparency.

Q Which cuisine or culinary tradition inspires you the most?

I suppose our local cuisine inspires me the most. Reading about the culinary traditions of those who lived here before us keeps me grounded in the kitchen, and intentional in my cooking.

Q What was your most memorable dining experience?

A small table outside of a friend’s home in Northern Oaxaca, Mexico. A traditional meal cooked by his grandmother. A bit too much local Mezcal.

By Alana Lauren

There is nothing that compares to a cold brew on a summer day. Local craft beer is a hot trend on the Island with breweries launching new brews with the unbridled enthusiasm that you would expect when you combine beer with an Island destination. Craft brewing on PEI is going to continue to expand. Now, that’s something to celebrate - with a beer!