Chef Profile: Frank Stitt
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Frank Stitt, "Culinary King of Alabama"
Editor’s Note: We’re going to do this a little differently; after all this isn’t just any chef.
The Chef: Frank Stitt, chef and owner at Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega Restaurant and Cafe and Chez Fonfon, all in Birmingham, Alabama.
Stitt is a legend in upper-echelon cooking circles. He spent his formative years studying with such culinary luminaries as Alice Waters and Richard Olney and traveling through France. Later, he returned to his home state of Alabama, specifically Birmingham, to open a fine dining establishment, in 1982.
I tracked Frank down for an interview on the main drag of Greenville, South Carolina in mid-September, where he was doing a demonstration, booksigning, and dinner at the annual Euphoria food and wine festival. He agreed and we ducked into the” American Grocery”:http://www.americangr.com, an up-and-coming locavore restaurant. The woman at the host podium looked up and her jaw dropped.
“Frank Stitt!” she gushed.
After all, a veritable rock star had just entered her humble abode.
The Toolbox: A gray plastic toolbox, though he says he’s partial to big red mechanic toolboxes.
The Tools: Cleavers, slicers, tongs, truffle slicers, and poultry shears.
What Was Your First Tool? “My first tool was a mortar and pestle,” says Stitt. “It’s the most ancient way to pound garlic into paste. Slicing and chopping doesn’t have the same result. In Provence, they use a mortar and pestle as a doorstop.”
The master at work.
The Tools You’ve Loved: When I asked Stitt which tool he would most like to be buried with it, he made a face. “I don’t see it as going down with my knife, whisk or ladle,” he said, though it’s clear that the ability to view a tool as an extension of his body is important. “I once had a small wooden-handled whisk, and it had a nice tactile feel compared with stainless steel. With sauces and vinaigrettes, it’s good to be able to feel the ingredients through the handle.” He believes that the same thing goes when it comes to knives. For the dinner he was preparing that evening, he had to debone numerous rabbits. “You have to feel the blade as it runs along the bone, and it needs to be thin-bladed and razor sharp and flexible. It’s almost like an anatomy lesson, as you go along the femur bone and vertebrae.”
What’s Your Holy Grail Tool? “I’d like to be able to see inside something, a visual of what it looks like inside when you’re roasting a piece of meat,” he envisions. “To have that perfect roast chicken thigh go from just slightly too-rare to tighten up and be perfect within seconds, now that would be a wonderful thing.”
What’s Your Tool Philosophy? Stitt believes that cooks should always be in improvisational mode. “Cooking is about finding the best solution to a problem,” he says. “An old trick Richard Olney taught me was to use a rosemary sprig to pin the belly flap on a loin lamb chop. My father was a surgeon and I used to watch him operate. I try to bring that level of sincerity to my work.”
Win a copy!
Win a copy of Frank’s book
I have a copy of Frank’s latest book, Frank Stitt’s Bottega Favorita; A Southern Chef’s Love Affair with Italian Food
I grew up in the South, and still appreciate the flavors that originated there.