Interview With John Currence
Posted by Emily Byram on Thursday, September 22, 2011
Chefs are the backbone of so much of the work we do. Whether it’s culinary events that raise critical funds, our nutrition education programs that teach low-income families how to shop and eat on a budget, or even lobbying on Capitol Hill on behalf of hungry kids, chefs are some of our most dedicated volunteers and advocates.
We want to introduce our community to more of these chefs, so we’re starting an ongoing interview series that features these chef advocates. Our first in this series is John Currence, a chef and business owner whose involvement with Share Our Strength is varied and longstanding – participating in our culinary events, engaging in this week’s Dine Out For No Kid Hungry, competing on behalf of No Kid Hungry on Top Chef Masters Season 3, publicly pledging to do his part to end childhood hunger, and serving as a member of Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry Task Force. Just this week, he held two dinners at City Grocery in Oxford, MS, on behalf of our Dine Out for No Kid Hungry with Chef Floyd Cardoz of the Union Square Restaurant Group.
How did you become involved in Share Our Strength?
I’ve been involved with Share Our Strength for so long, I don’t remember the exact beginning of our journey together. I worked Taste of the Nation events in New Orleans, LA and Memphis, TN very early in my career, perhaps even before I was entirely aware of what Share Our Strength was capable of doing. I was always amazed with the passion that both the chefs and the guests had for the cause and how genuinely engaged everyone was at the events. As the years went along and we searched for something that really made a difference. Share Our Strength continued to reveal itself again and again as the one large scale non-profit we could feel good about giving to and working with. As a chef and a businessman, I love people who “do” and not just blow hot air.
Why is ending childhood hunger important to you?
To me, our goal is important, not for the obvious reasons as much as the future. We have got to attack the problem of feeding our children and feeding them properly at the base. In addition, we have to try to educate them directly about why eating right is important and what a poor diet can lead to.
What’s the best meal you’ve had in recent memory?
Last night. I just arrived in San Francisco to do an event in Napa and had dinner with Traci des Jardins at Bar Agricole. It was a magnificent example of what is great in the current restaurant movement: outstanding ingredients, prepared perfectly and simply, celebrating the essence of each thing itself. We had a plate of tiny roasted sardines with fennel pollen, turmeric, olive oil and perfectly fried crispy garlic. Simple flavors, technique and textures that, in the wrong hands, could come completely unraveled, but were executed with cunning and dexterity at Bar Agricole. Other than that, my brother and his wife made perfectly grilled lamb chops and a quinoa risotto a couple of nights ago in New Orleans that I would kill for.
What is your favorite aspect of being a chef? Least favorite aspect?
Favorite: immediate gratification. Least favorite: getting someone to invite you over for dinner is like pulling teeth.
Chefs know more about feeding people than just about anyone. What is the secret to preparing a satisfying meal?
Cook from the heart. Cook things that you love to eat, that make you happy and transport you to a certain place. Keep it simple. If you are cooking fish, it doesn’t need dozens of sauces and accompaniments. Fish needs a little citrus and a touch of seasoning. Without any equivocation, simple is always better.
What ingredients will we always find in your kitchen?
Lard. It gets a terrible rap for all of the wrong reasons. Lard is a wonderful ingredient that biscuits, pie crusts, tamales would not be without it. It is not the evil, artery clogging, uber fat that it is preconceived to be. It has less saturated fat and cholesterol than equal weight in butter and has no trans fats.
What is your favorite American culinary destination?
Without a moment’s hesitation, New Orleans. There is such a cool scene unfolding in NOLA right now. It speaks to history, culture, soul and fun. It isn’t like going to New York or San Francisco, where ethnic cuisines are as far reaching as the horizon. The guys cooking in New Orleans are doing it because they are trying to mine the essence that is the heart and soul of that place. They are all telling stories of their lives through their food. Go eat with Donald Link, John Besh, Sue Zemanick, Tory McPhail, Leah Chase, Kerry Seaton, Susan Spicer, Frank Brigtsen, Aaron Burgau. Eating with them is like a bedtime story.
What is your favorite childhood food memory?
My great grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies, oysters and crawfish at Joe Petrosi’s, spaghetti and meatballs (the size of a baseball) at Manale’s, Baked Alaska at Commander’s Palace, onion rings at Bozo’s, catfish at Middendorf’s, my dad’s white beans and rice, shrimp poboys at Domilice’s and roast beef at the original Parasol’s, Pears Belle Helene in a hotel room in Den Haag, haggis with neeps and tatties at the World in Edinburgh, my grandmother’s meatloaf, boiled shrimp straight out of the pot on the bank of the Wolf River…are you starting to think too much of our time was around food?
Do you have any advice to chefs looking to give back?
Find something you care about and you want to be involved in up to your neck. We can throw money at problems all day long and not make a lick of difference. It isn’t until we are engaged, involved and participating that things actually happen. It doesn’t matter what it is, if you care about it, it’s important. Limit what you’re involved with and turn your interest on like a fire hose to truly make a difference. Just try to make a difference.
September 22, 2011 | 0 comment(s) | Tags: chef, dine out for no kid hungry, john currence, no kid hungry
Post a comment
All fields are required (your e-mail address will not be displayed)