Full Interview

You are known for getting the most out of every part of the animal. Talk about your approach to butchery.

We take a holistic view to our butchery and to the ways we use all ingredients. We try to be a friend of the farmer. Local farmers often end up with “off-cuts,” or the parts that are left over when everyone buys up prime cuts. We buy the entire animal and also farmers’ extra parts – like a bunch of livers. This approach means that we don’t have lamb chops or beef ribs on the menu every night, but we’ve been able to bring our diners along so that they try the liver.

Describe how you use Kikkoman Soy Sauce and other Kikkoman products in your cuisine.

I recently made bresaola that we cured with Kikkoman Tamari Soy Sauce and ponzu, and we liked the results, so we plan to continue experimenting with Kikkoman products for curing. Because Cured doesn’t have a specific ethnic style, we try different influences, and Kikkoman allows our team to play around with Asian flavors.

You grew up on a family farm in Walworth, Wisconsin, which, coincidentally, is also home to Kikkoman’s first U.S. plant. How much did you know about the plant and about Kikkoman’s products while growing up?

Every year, my town would host a Corn & Brat Festival. Kikkoman used to set up a drive-through teriyaki stand where they would sell teriyaki sticks to the entire town. The population is about 2,000 now, maybe 1,600 when I was growing up, and the plant employs many people from Walworth.

Describe why umami is important and how you achieve high-level umami.

I feel like I knew about umami before I knew what it really was. New Orleans is where I learned how to season food. Early on, I was working in a restaurant and was asked to make gumbo, and, for whatever reason, I put in a cup of Kikkoman Soy Sauce. The sous chef told me it was the best gumbo he had ever had. He didn’t taste the soy sauce, and that’s part of why Kikkoman Soy Sauce is so great. You don’t have to know it’s in a dish to taste the impact. That’s umami – it connects all the flavors in your mouth and you get a roundness. It doesn’t intrude; it completes a dish. Still, I have a lot of friends in New Orleans who would kill me if they knew I put soy sauce in my gumbo.

Talk about how your Tartare of Wagyu Beef, Wasabi-Pea Crackling, Lime Ponzu Froth came together.

I always keep a tartare on the menu and, in this case, I use Wagyu beef from a local farmer. I created this dish for a StarChefs event, and I was working outside of my kitchen, so I wanted to create something simple that’s served at room temperature. I used Kikkoman Lime Ponzu Citrus Seasoned Dressing & Sauce and Wasabi Sauce to replace the lemon, mustard and salt used in a typical tartare. Then I started thinking about a vessel for eating the tartare. Instead of a toasted baguette, I plate on wasabi peas, which is a favorite Asian snack. The lime ponzu froth looks great and cuts through the fattiness of the meat.

What is your inspiration for creating new dishes?

The last few years I have been really into San Antonio and Texas food ways and learning what is growing around me. I like to find underutilized foods or ones that are historic but that somehow fell out of favor – things like mesquite pods, cactus paddles, prickly pear, wild herbs and Texas persimmons.

Describe your culinary style in 5 words.

Farmhouse, Thoughtful, Sustainable, Foraged, Smart