PA Eats is a proud media sponsor of Meals on Wheels Delaware’s Annual Meals with the Masters Celebrity Brunch.
Foreword by Amy Strauss, interview by Greg Taffer
Meals On Wheels Delaware, a nonprofit working with five meal-providing agencies to provide meals every day to almost 4,000 homebound seniors, is gearing up to host the 16th Annual Meals with the Masters Celebrity Brunch, which is slated to unfold Sunday, April 21, at 11 a.m. at the Hercules Plaza in Wilmington, Delaware. 2013’s celebrity chef-ridden brunch hosts the most prestigious, nationally represented lineup thus far (which you can preview here), including Chicago’s Roger Herring, owner of Socca.
In preparation for the upcoming brunch, PA Eats‘s Greg Taffer gets up-close and personal with the Windy City-based acclaimed chef, picking his Best Thing I Ever Ate-nominated brain on his culinary past, what it was like to cater for rock stars, his utmost favorite dish at his restaurant, and more.
What made you want to become a chef?
Roger Herring: From as far back as I can remember, I’ve enjoyed spending time in the kitchen. The beginning of it was making omelets with my dad and baking with my mom. After going to college for three years, I decided it would be best to work in restaurants
What was it like to study in Limoges?
When I read about successful chefs it seemed like seven out of ten had spent time in Europe. Instead of working under a chef who worked abroad, I decided to go abroad. It was a great experience as far as dealing with a kitchen staff and learning from a student of Joël Robuchon’s. Learning to be in a kitchen in France was something I couldn’t live in Chicago.
What have been some differences between catering and working in a restaurant?
I had been working in a few restaurants in Chicago, and I had never done catering. I had a good time working with a company called Food for Thought. It was another great experience to put under my belt-doing a dinner for 1,500 people versus 100 at the restaurant. It helps you to get organized—you can’t run out of things, you don’t have a cooler or a kitchen you can walk back into.
How did you get started in catering?
I did a bunch of backstage catering with Deborah Sharpe who worked with Adam Ant. One Valentine’s Day, we were sitting around and started Eat Your Hearts Out Catering. She previously worked with the Grateful Dead, the [Rolling] Stones, and all the big acts. Her sister ran her company in London and Deborah was based out of Chicago. It was a good experience to go from Arizona to zigzag across the United States and end up in Limestone, Maine. A lot of people love to be on a tour bus going across the United States and cook for big bands. The first thing I did was an after party for U2’s Elevation tour in 2001, it was my first after party at a small bar and we did 140 people including Whoopi Goldberg and Nicole Kidman.
What has been the biggest difference between being a sous chef and owning Socca?
Sous Chefs run the kitchen more than anyone and our usually hands on and the chefs take care of the business side of things. When you own your own restaurant you’re not just writing a menu and taking care of the picture. Being an owner/operator is 20% food, and the other 80% is the whole restaurant. I’ve owned Socca for nine years and over the years the biggest challenge has been keeping the excitement alive and keeping the restaurant fresh with decor and food.
Do you have a favorite dish or pantry item? Why?
My favorite menu dish is the Rabbit Risotto—it’s a cacciatore style risotto with braised rabbit, fennel, dried chilis, roasted tomatoes, and cremini and oyster mushrooms. It’s finished with a blend of thyme, parsley, and Parmesan. It’s mainly a Spring/Summer/Fall Dish, but once we took it off we’ve received complaints and left it on the menu ever since.
How did you get involved with Meals on Wheels?
Ryan Sikora asked me to come initially and I’ve been coming ever since. It’s my fifth year, and you do a lot of different chef events and it seems like Meals on Wheels takes care of the chefs that come here and they appreciate more so than other events I’ve worked. It’s a really good group of guys that have been doing it for over sixteen years. It’s one of those events all chefs look forward to, and it raises money for a great cause. I’ll do it every year I’m asked to come. I’ve gotten four of five more Chicago chefs to come to the event. It’s fun to do a brunch as opposed to a dinner or cocktail party.
For more information on Roger Herring and the Meals on Wheels event, visit mealsonwheelsde.org. Click here to purchase tickets to the event.
Photographs credited to Socca & Roger Herring.
