I came from a family that hauls its meals from the soil, the woods, and the waters of New Hampshire. As a young boy I can remember being at my grandparents’ house and eating stalks of rhubarb right from the garden. Standing in the kitchen, watching my Memere slicing cucumbers for supper. I can vividly remember watching my Pepere bite into a ripe tomato and seeing it burst its seeds onto his white t-shirt, only to let out a lite chuckle, before continuing his story. My father often spent his autumns in the woods. The days he harvested deer, he would return home and shout up the stairs “Boys, I got one”. My brothers and I would race outside to his truck to see what he had gotten. In days to follow, we would get lessons on hanging and aging the animal, the process of skinning, and the complete breakdown of all the different cuts. My mother, though not much of a game consumer, prepared most of the meals in our household, simple but most importantly delicious. It was during this time, while living at home, that food became my comfort.

When I was in New York, I lavished on the bounty of the Hudson Valley. I can remember crossing route 9 in front of the CIA, jumping into the sprouting hillsides, pulling handfuls of ramps from the earth, and peering up the south-facing hillsides catching the first glimpse of blonde morels. This sparked my interest to seek out the firsts of the farmer’s markets. Large white asparagus peered from the street carts that lined the markets in Munich, the smell of ripe strawberries flowed through the streets of Paris, and my affection for English Peas was discovered while walking through Borough Market. It was in London that I was introduced to the complexity of cheese. Once a week, a tall skinny Frenchman would arrive at the Foliage and take two chefs to his truck, which was lined with shelves and nests of hay that held his collection. The markets in the Midwest swallowed me; the spring garlic that always arrived first, followed by the berries, by the tomatoes, into the stone fruits, and finished with cider and tart apples from Seedling Farm. With every corner I turned, I found something new, something fresh, and something beautiful. It was a respect for the ingredients, a respect for their importance, and a respect for those who would nourish them along the way. I have had the opportunity to work in a broad range of restaurants since I began my exploration of cooking as a profession.

In the very beginning it was Michael Timothy’s that began the blocks that would stabilize my foundation as a chef, a sense of urgency, how to use a knife, a pan, a kitchen towel, how to conduct myself in a kitchen atmosphere, and most importantly the introduction to the Service. At Michael Timothy’s I built my core of fundamentals.

During my tenure at the Culinary Institute of America, I began the undertakings into the depths of classical cooking. As a student we were taken to the roots on a global scale. A small dice was 1⁄4 inch square, a béchamel was “a white sauce made of milk thickened with a light roux and flavored with onion”, and depouillage was to “skim the surface of a cooking liquid”. The CIA taught by the book.

At Foliage, (aka culture shock) on my first day I was introduced to the pastry team at the Mandarin Oriental in London. I would spend the next six months forming a technique that now embodies what represents my sweeter side of cooking. Once I embarked onto the classical brigade of the Foliage kitchen, I got my first look at creativity bound together with flavor. This was the first time in my career, that I would take everything I had been taught and forced to utilize it. We started early, broke the fish, made the fish sauce, portioned the fish, prepped the garnishes for the fish, finally “pick up two Turbot” now cook it, and bring it all up at once. I knew how to cook, but it was Chris Staines who taught me how to execute.

September 25,2007 the day precision, refinement, efficiency, tenacity, and push entered my life. Alinea polished my craft. Each day was spent taking a raw ingredient and pursuing countless ways to achieve the perfect balance of taste, texture, appeal, and shape, while never misleading from the integrity of its original form. Grant Achatz pushed me to chase my imagination.

The High Lonesome Ranch, over the 5 years on the ranch, I was able to stop and truly look at all aspects of not only cooking but running a business. This was the first time during my culinary career that the numbers have become just as important as the food and service. The food, beverage and team can all be flawless, but without a sound financial operation, nothing is possible. To ensure the success of a business, in order to serve incredible food and drink and to have a solid team, the numbers need to be in check. This was a huge part of my time at The High Lonesome Ranch, one that broadened my perception of an entire business.

All these places served not only as restaurants or institutions, but also as libraries of endless knowledge. It’s been a beautiful ride of culture, history, and surprise.

The next journey would lead me to where I am today, almost 6.5 years in. I am still learning, pushing to achieve my best work, while remaining disciplined to always remain a student to the craft. When Ashley and I were considering the possibility of opening Peche Restaurant, we thought that we “were ready”. Only to be so gracefully humbled. Owning and operating the restaurant has not only taught us but forced us to maintain balance. At this point professionally, I have been in the industry for close to 25 years. I have been fortunate to be a part of a team that was awarded Outstanding Service from the James Beard Foundation, three Michelin stars by the Michelin Guide, and part of a restaurant ranked number 6 on the San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants. I have been able to experience some very special times; that being said I completely understand what it takes to become elite, the insanity of discipline, the “Grind” and the “Push”. I have also been so blessed during this time to begin raising a family. Within a month of Peche opening its doors for the first time, Ashley gave birth to our third child. We started a restaurant with two very young children and a newborn. Then 7 months later, COVID-19 and a world I had never experienced before. We put everything we had into Peche, and when we were forced to close our doors to in-house dining. It was possibly the most difficult journey I have ever had to navigate. Fighting each day to maintain a brand new restaurant and fighting to ensure our children would never feel the impacts of our hardship.

Over the last 6.5 years it has been extremely important to Ashley and I to surround ourselves with professionals, dedicated, thoughtful, and driven individuals. It’s the “Team” at Peche Restaurant that has rewarded the time for balance. The time and the freedom to raise three amazing children alongside my wife, while also being able to nurture the growth of our restaurant family. In the beginning, the pendulum would swing! Just when I thought I was getting better at being a good father, a good husband, and a good friend, I would begin to feel like I was losing touch with the pulse of the restaurant. In a frenzy, I would grind back into the kitchen, simply to look up to find I was in the exact opposite position. It has taken time, it has taken real experience at both, to develop an outstanding and great respect for the ability to be the best I can both personally and professionally. Six and a half years into our own restaurant, I can tell you I still love working with food and beverage, developing menus, and “Push” that we are known for at Peche Restaurant, I can also tell you that I have loved every minute of raising children and being a husband. It's one of the most important lessons we try to teach our team at Peche Restaurant on a daily basis. Find what you love and do it, Find a career path that you have a desire to dedicate yourself to and push yourself to be the best you. When you find it, you quickly realize that personal and professional time feed off of each other. Considering all of the incredible experiences in this industry thus far, work/life balance has been a blessing in disguise.