This Saturday, 12/13, at 6 p.m. at the Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard Street, Boston Chef Jeremy Sewall, the Chef and owner of Brookline’s Lineage restaurant, Island Creek Oyster Bar and the “workingman’s oyster bar” Row 34 will be signing his first cookbook. “The New England Kitchen: Fresh Takes on Seasonal Recipes“, co-authored by Erin Byers Murray (“Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm“), is a beautiful volume of Sewall’s contemporary twists on New England classic dishes perfect for serving in Fall, Winter, Spring or Summer.
I emailed with Chef Sewall about the common misconception that New England cooking is “stodgy” and what it was like balancing work on a cookbook with the demands of the restaurant business.
Brookline Hub: In your opinion, why should New England be celebrated as a preeminent food region?
Jeremy Sewall: Why shouldn’t it be? It is very rich with iconic ingredients that show up all over the country. Each region is special but cooking in New England has gotten better and better. The food producers and chefs have continued to push themselves, as we have seen the region continue to grow.
BH: How did the idea of this cookbook come about? How did you manage to find time to work on it with Erin Byers Murray while also managing and/or consulting at 4 popular area restaurants: Lineage, Island Creek Oyster Bar, Row 34 and Eastern Standard?
JS: The idea for the cookbook came from many long conversations with Erin Murray. When she and her husband first moved to Boston, one of their first dinners out was at my restaurant Lineage, which lit the spark. When we really decided to move forward, both Erin and my wife Lisa had just had babies. From that point to when we finished the book, the kids were three years old.
Working at the restaurants and producing content for the book at the same time was absolutely a difficult process and one that I couldn’t have done without the incredibly talented people I get to work with every day. It’s just one of those things that you do, and then look back when it’s over and think to yourself, “How did I just do all that?”
BH: New England cuisine has a reputation for being a bit stodgy. Your work as a chef and restaurateur in the Boston area involves both paying tribute to past New England culinary traditions and also updating them for modern tastes. How do you balance respecting the past with bringing innovation to your menus?
JS: I think the idea that New England cuisine is stodgy is a very old one. The evolution of food here is amazing, there is nothing stodgy about it. Those recipes and people that came before us paved the way to get us here. I like to use iconic New England ingredients in new ways, as many chefs here do. We have learned to create the next generation of New England food that respects the past and looks to the future.
BH: What recipes and/or ingredient combinations in this book do you think might surprise people? What are some of the most versatile ingredients you enjoy working with?
JS: The vegetables in NE have really become incredible; the astute farmers in NE have figured out how to stretch the seasons, and make the most out of what they grow. I’m not sure what might surprise people, I really focused on using approachable ingredients.
BH: You famously support area fisheries and other local food sources—a movement that has seen resurgence in recent years. Why is this important to you? Do you worry that the local food movement is just a food trend, and that like cupcakes or fondue it might fade from the culinary landscape?
JS: You can’t compare cupcakes to a local food movement. This is not a trend – it is the absolute future of most regions around the country. Years ago most food was local because it had to be, this is returning because people want to know what they are eating. More community gardens, more farmers markets and more farmers are not a trend, I think they are here to stay. It should be important to everyone, and with available education and information it has.
BH: Who is your food hero? How did his or her work influence you?
JS: I have many, my family are great cooks and I grew up with a healthy respect to growing and catching food. That was a huge influence on me. My hero’s now are all the hard working people that work for me and watching them develop is a really important thing for me. It keeps me motivated.
BH: What do you like best about running a business in Brookline?
JS: I love the people and the community. Lineage is almost 9 years old and I feel blessed that we have guests that have been there for all of them. Becoming part of the Brookline landscape has been one of my proudest achievements in my career, I love that we share milestones like graduations, weddings and just regular days with people.
BH: What can people expect from your Brookline Booksmith event?
JS: We’ll be serving the crowd favorite lobster tacos, and I’ll be there to answer questions about recipes from the book!
—Interview by Jennifer Campaniolo
