Q&A With Gerald Hirigoyen,
Chef/Owner of Piperade in San Francisco
High style but high comfort--that describes Piperade, Gerald
Hirigoyen's Basque restaurant in the Embarcadero neighborhood, which
opened in 2002. From the moment you walk through the glass doors,
the chef seems to be everywhere: greeting guests with a smile, stirring
a Madeira reduction in the kitchen, pausing at a table to pair an
Albarino wine with a shellfish stew.
Born in Biarritz in the French Basque region, Hirigoyen first impressed
food fans with his 1991 debut at Fringale, a French bistro
also in San Francisco. Accolades quickly followed: he was named
one of the Ten Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine
in 1994, and Chef of the Year in 1995 by San Francisco Focus
magazine. Along with his wife, Cameron, Hirigoyen literally wrote
the book on Basque cooking, The Basque Kitchen.
CMEplanner: Why did you choose the name Piperade
for your restaurant?
Hirigoyen: Basque Country straddles the western Pyrenees mountains
and includes parts of both France and Spain. Throughout this area,
piperade is a very typical stew that uses onions, peppers, tomatoes
and garlic--like a ratatouille. It reflects the soul of Basque cooking.
CMEplanner: What inspired you to create a restaurant focused
on Basque cuisine?
Hirigoyen:
When you grow up with Basque cooking, its tastes and traditions
always stick with you. I wanted to do a restaurant that had my stamp--that
was completely me--and to own a restaurant with my wife.
CMEplanner: What influenced you to become a chef?
Hirigoyen:
My parents were passionate about cooking, and they passed that love
along to me. I always wanted to cook, from the time I was a child.
I was a little gourmand from a young age--I always wanted to have
my hands in the pots and pans and be making chocolate mousse, chocolate
gateau... things like that. I started out working with local pastry
chefs and then did an apprenticeship in Paris.
CMEplanner: What made you
decide to move to the U.S. from France when you were 23?
Hirigoyen:
I knew that if I didn't do it when I was young, I would never do
it. I arrived with a suitcase and a surfboard. But then it was cold
here in Northern California so I got rid of the surfboard and kept
the suitcase.
CMEplanner: You call your menu "West-Coast Basque Cuisine." How do you
change or "interpret" Basque dishes for your Californian clientele?
Hirigoyen:
I take my ideas from the traditions I grew up with and move
the recipes forward. For example, the braised sweetbreads with spinach
and the Madeira reduction--in a farmhouse kitchen, it would be prepared
as a stew, with all the meat and vegetables cooked together. Here
we assemble all the ingredients at the end so they retain their
individual tastes.
CMEplanner: Describe some of the other dishes on the menu.
Hirigoyen: One
typical Basque dish for the tipa--small plates--is the piquillo
peppers stuffed with goat cheese and pine nuts. Another favorite
is the warm terrine with layers of ham and sheep's-milk cheese.
And the seafood and shellfish stew in red-pepper sauce comes from
the coastal region.
CMEplanner: What did you want the restaurant decor to convey?
Hirigoyen:
I wanted something really comfortable and warm... to create the
feeling of a retreat. We do that with the brick walls and the wine
barrels placed around the room. To keep the feeling of a family-style
Basque restaurant, we have the "Sheepherder's" table at the center
of the restaurant for small groups or individuals who want to dine
at a community table.
CMEplanner: Why do you think San Francisco is such a center for global
cuisines?
Hirigoyen:
San Francisco is the leading city for openness, so people are ready
to accept a lot of new and different things.
CMEplanner: You like keeping busy. What are some of your other projects?
Hirigoyen:
Here in San Francisco, I also own the Spanish tapas restaurant,
Bocadillos, and I'm consulting chef at Miró Restaurant
at Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara. But I don't like stepping
out of the kitchen too much. I just want to keep doing what I keep
doing-and to keep things fresh.
* * *
Foie gras sautéed with
Monterey squid, grapes, and verjus (unfermented grape juice).
Piperade
1015 Battery St. (near Green)
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 391-2555
www.piperade.com
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