Since 1969, restaurant, hotel, travel & other witty reviews by a handpicked, worldwide team of discerning professionals—and your views, too.




REGIONAL CHEFS 2004

Age: 42
Home Town:
Rowayton, CT
Favorite Ingredient:
late summer bell peppers
Signature Dish:
Arctic char with truffle vinaigrette, pea shoots and salsify
Mentors:
David Bouley and Gilles Dupont

The daily challenge for Kerry Heffernan is to create a menu that reminds his customers of a walk through the green market. So while his guest chef appearances and research trips in California and Europe inspire his creative process, he is constantly editing ingredients, to stay true to his restaurant’s New York roots. The current menu might feature a white eggplant soup or a pasta dish made with heirloom beans, for example. Culinary apprenticeships in Switzerland and France taught him the importance of fresh, regional ingredients; those lessons were drummed into his daily routine when he worked for David Bouley in New York. An avid fisherman, he has created a network of seafood purveyors, from the boat owner who brings in his morning’s Spanish mackerel catch to the fatty tuna supplier in Maine. Heffernan’s menu includes both set items and daily options: "Some things I can project, others change as the market dictates," he says.

Pea Flan


<< Back to Regional Chefs

<< Back to Restaurant Issue Main Page



WINE OF THE WEEK

A brut non-vintage Champagne from one of the five oldest Champagne houses.

Read the article.

THANKSGIVING WINES

Best wines to pair your Thanksgving Dinner.

Check the list.

GAYOT'S RESTAURANT AWARDSOver the years, we have been electing restaurants to be on GAYOT's Yearly Restaurant Awards.

Check the list.