Chef’s Thoughts with Andrew Ladd

The Executive Chef of Hampshire Country Club says he’d love to learn more about this diet because he believes it is the future of food.

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Chef’s Thoughts is sponsored by barillafs.com.

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Andrew Ladd came to Hampshire Country Club (Mamaroneck, N.Y.) this past summer as Executive Chef. Ladd’s career has spanned more than twenty-five years in the club industry. For almost twenty years, he served as the Executive Chef of the New York Athletic Club (Travers Island, N.Y.). He is also an active member and past president of the Club Chefs of Westchester. Ladd loves to travel to new and exciting places to learn about cultures and foods. Most recently he went to Spain, Morocco, Bavaria, Mexico, France, and Italy.

1. You’d be surprised to learn that I am allergic to shellfish. 
2. If I could trade places with one chef it would be Anthony Bourdain. I would have loved to experience all the cultures he experienced when he was alive.
3. One of my most memorable meals was at Gray Kunz at Lespinasse in the St Regis NYC.
4. My go-to drink is a classic well-made margarita or mojito.
5. My last meal would be A5 KOBE Steak with Sauteed Spinach and Garlic.
6. My worst culinary creation was my first attempt at sourdough bread.
7. If I could change one thing about my club I would buy new combi ovens.
8. My favorite junk food is Haagen Dazs Ice Cream, Vanilla Swiss Almond.
9. If I wasn’t a chef, I’d love to be own a bar on a beach that serves small bites. I’d work as the bartender.
10. I knew I wanted to be a chef when I was about 16 years old. I was a bus boy at North Hempstead Country Club. I worked there on weekends and in the summer while I was in school.
11. You’ll never see sweet breads or tripe on the menu at my club because members don’t eat like that anymore. They opt for healthier options.
12. The most ridiculous member or guest request I’ve ever had was onion soup with the onions strained out. The next best was a crème brulee to-go with the ceramic baking dish.
13. I love being a club chef because every day is different. You never get bored creating new menus or ideas.
14. When I’m not in the kitchen, I’m golfing, fishing, or trying a new restaurant or an old favorite.
15. My biggest mistake when I first started as a chef was trying to rush mastering the basic fundamentals of cooking. There is no replacement for experience.
16. I cook Indian food at home, but I’d never cook it at the club.
17. If I could have dinner with one person, dead or alive, it would be my late grandmother. She inspired me so much growing up as a child and was a great chef for her time.
18. The most valuable piece of career advice I’ve ever received was, “Go to Culinary Institute of America and get a formal culinary education.”
19. My favorite celebrity chef is Anthony Bourdain because I respect him as a chef and his brutal honesty towards the culinary world.
20. The most important piece of equipment in my kitchen is a sharp knife. A day does not go by without using it.
21. I want to learn more about plant-based food because we will be seeing a lot more of this in the future.
22. My favorite ingredient is fennel pollen. Truffles are the most overrated ingredient. Salt is the most undervalued ingredient. I detest foams, and I can’t live without a good balsamic vinegar.
23. My most embarrassing moment in the kitchen was when I gave a student a recipe and it called for 1 cup of brown sugar, and they were burning white sugar in a sauté pan to try and get it brown.
24. My favorite cookbook is, “Vegetables Unleashed” by Jose Andres. There are so many to list but this one stands out as a recent favorite.
25. My favorite kitchen hack is chopsticks and a glass water bottle to remove cherry pits.
26. I am motivated and inspired by traveling and learning from others through my traveling.
27. The hardest service of my career was when we lost power for an outing for 700 people.
28. I’d lose my job if I took omelets off the lunch menu or brunch buffet.
29. Work ethic is the most important quality in a sous chef.
30. My go-to breakfast is chilaquiles with tomatillo sauce.
31. When hiring, typos kills a resume fastest for me.
32. My biggest professional pet peeve is taking the last item without saying anything, especially if you are the only one that uses it.
33. I will always purchase bread instead of making it from scratch.
34. The most important question I ask during the interview process is, “What do you want to accomplish while you are here?”
35. The best excuse I’ve ever been given for calling off work is, “It’s raining.”
36. If I had to hire a family member, I would choose my late grandmother because of her work ethic and culinary ability.
37. The best culinary gift I’ve ever received was high-end Reidel wine glasses.