Chef John Currence
Co-owner of City Grocery in Oxford Mississippi.

Brad: Welcome Chef.

Brad: Some introductory comments chef?

ChefJohnCurrence: Sure, I was raised as a native NOLA kid, and stumbled into the restaurant business in North Carolina.

ChefJohnCurrence: My mom was on the original opening crew of Gautreau's in New Orleans.

ChefJohnCurrence: The restaurant was owned by one of her good friends.

ChefJohnCurrence: I spent a lot of time with my mom in the kitchen as a kid.

ChefJohnCurrence: When I got to UNC, out of sheer desperation, I got into the restaurant business...

ChefJohnCurrence: As a bus boy!

ChefJohnCurrence: Immediately fired for lack of social skills;>

ChefJohnCurrence: But managed to redeem myself as a dishwasher.

ChefJohnCurrence: The chef at Crooks Corner in Chapel Hill.

ChefJohnCurrence: Inspired me. A real; guru of southern cooking, Bill Neal.

ChefJohnCurrence: In my spare time from washing dishes, he ended up taking me under his wing.

Brad: How did that happen?

ChefJohnCurrence: I was always asking to help.

Brad: Then you came back to New Orleans?

ChefJohnCurrence: After three years as kitchen manager at Crooks.

ChefJohnCurrence: After my stint as the disher, I became the Sous Chef.

Brad: Sous Chef? Please explain...

ChefJohnCurrence: Just the French Term for assistant chef.

ChefJohnCurrence: I eventually took on a 2nd job Aurora in Chapel Hill...

ChefJohnCurrence: White linen, fine dining.

ChefJohnCurrence: I moved home to New Orleans in the late 80's.

ChefJohnCurrence: Invited to come back by a friend who was reopening Gautreaus.

ChefJohnCurrence: Mark Selman, the chef there, coerced me to come back.

ChefJohnCurrence: Head Chef and owner.

Brad: What happened next?

ChefJohnCurrence: Mark solidified my convictions to go into the restaurant business myself.

ChefJohnCurrence: I was toying with Law School or other things, but realized this was what I really wanted to do.

ChefJohnCurrence: Working at Gautreau with close childhood friend, Palmer Adams,

ChefJohnCurrence: Who is ultimately the man who told me about Oxford, Ms.

ChefJohnCurrence: I then I came there, 4 years later.

ChefJohnCurrence: I also worked for the Brennan family at Mr. B's in New Orleans, before coming to Oxford.

CourtB: I love Mr B's!

ChefJohnCurrence: After a while with them, I decided I was ready to break out on my own.

Brad: City Grocery?

ChefJohnCurrence: And then City Grocery fell in my lap.

Brad: What did you think about Oxford?

ChefJohnCurrence: My first impression of Oxford was exciting...

ChefJohnCurrence: A surrogate Chapel Hill for me, a vibrant college town.

ChefJohnCurrence: And there was no ambitious fine dining in Oxford, and I felt I really had something to offer.

ChefJohnCurrence: When you find a good location, that's crying out for something you've got, then you've just got to go.

Nedsta256: You're a native New Orleanian - How has that informed your style at City Grocery?

ChefJohnCurrence: Well...

ChefJohnCurrence: I suppose as a lover of my home,

ChefJohnCurrence: I'll never escape the food I was brought up with.

ChefJohnCurrence: By virtue of the fact that my training was in classical French and Italian food, and my desire to explore all cuisines of the world, I don't think I'll ever be tagged as a Creole style "only" chef.

ChefJohnCurrence: But these influences creep in to the food we do.

Brad: Any Creole dishes on the menu?

ChefJohnCurrence: Our menu changes every 6-7 weeks.

ChefJohnCurrence: We're not tied to any specific ethnic menu.

ChefJohnCurrence: I like to do a little of everything.

ChefJohnCurrence: I add local ingredients to oriental dishes... And certainly creole ingredients find there way into the menu as well.

ChefJohnCurrence: Right now we've got a dish with Andouille, and Louisiana Wild Rice...

Anne: John, will you convert your Shrimp & Grits recipe to yield 100 so I can serve the SAEs here on campus???

ChefJohnCurrence: Anne, come see me.

ChefJohnCurrence: I'll help you multiply it up, anytime.

ChefJohnCurrence: I really does convert directly from the recipe thats online.

Alecv: I lived in Chapel Hill for 4 years... Where did you cook there?

ChefJohnCurrence: Crooks Corner and Aurora restaurants.

Alecv: I ate at both of those places!

CourtB: How do you get your grits the right consistency?

ChefJohnCurrence: First of all.

ChefJohnCurrence: It starts with being raised in the south.

ChefJohnCurrence: If you can't cook fresh grits by instinct, then you need to visit the South.

Guest183: What is your favorite restaurant in New Orleans?

ChefJohnCurrence: In New Orleans, when I head home, I go straight for the Acme Oyster House.

ChefJohnCurrence: Or Cooter Brown's for their oyster bar.

ChefJohnCurrence: If I want a fine meal.

ChefJohnCurrence: And go out, you will have a tough time finding a better meal than at Brigtson's or Anne Kerny at Peristyle.

ChefJohnCurrence: Anne is a wonderful friend of mine.

ChefJohnCurrence: Frank Brigtson is a tremendous guy.

CourtB: In your opinion, how are classical french and deep southern american cuisine most different?

ChefJohnCurrence: Beside the obvious geographical difference?

ChefJohnCurrence: Deep Southern Cooking is very different as it is structured for the more immediate gratification of the Southern consumer.

ChefJohnCurrence: The french are much more willing to wait for their food, while folks want their fried chicken, now!

ChefJohnCurrence: Southerners have a real passion for food, but aren't nearly as particular as the French.

ChefJohnCurrence: Equally strong desires, but the French take it a heck of a lot more seriously that we do.

Nedsta256: Oxford is kind of "land locked..." Do ya'll do fresh seafood specials?

ChefJohnCurrence: We're actually seafood strong.

ChefJohnCurrence: With the development of the transportation industry we can get fish as fresh in Oxford as you can in New Orleans.

ChefJohnCurrence: I buy from a dock in Hawaii, as well as Beaumont, Tx, New York and Atlanta.

Nedsta256: Say, Chef, can Starkville Bulldogs come eat at your restaurant?

ChefJohnCurrence: Ha ha.

ChefJohnCurrence: Let me think.

ChefJohnCurrence: Absolutely. We get all kinds of trash here.

ChefJohnCurrence: And everybody, call me John.

ChefJohnCurrence: All my cooks are naked and drunk!

Nedsta256: I visited Oxford and was impressed by it's art community. Do you guys ever feature local artists in the restaurant?

ChefJohnCurrence: Certainly.

ChefJohnCurrence: Our dining room walls are decorated with lots of paintings by local artists from all over the region.

Guest185: Will you be featuring any special dishes for the Mardi Gras season?

ChefJohnCurrence: No, we used to put on "the Mardi Gras Dog" every year... And I had a wayward souls Mardi Gras party for friends up here, but...

ChefJohnCurrence: We had to discontinue it because it took two days to clean up after the last one!

Brad: Sounds like you guys like to have fun...

ChefJohnCurrence: The restaurant business isn't all business...

Cajungeno: What is your recipe for shrimp scampi!

ChefJohnCurrence: Sure, we've got a great recipe for it...

Brad: Don't you have a cookbook?

ChefJohnCurrence: We're putting together a cook book now...

ChefJohnCurrence: Since you've asked for it, we'll put it in there.

Nedsta256: Hi John, what's on the menu tonight?

ChefJohnCurrence: We've got a duck confit...

ChefJohnCurrence: With red onion marmalade and marinated lentils, a mixed grill of ostrich tenderloin and Mississippi Farm Raised Quail, with Bernaise.

ChefJohnCurrence: And a Thai chili vinaigrette.

Brad: Ever have Rabbit?

ChefJohnCurrence: We've got a very classical rabbit ragout pasta on the menu now, too.

ChefJohnCurrence: With goat cheese and wilted arugula.

Brad: Any More questions for the Chef - please feel free to ask.

Brad: What are Winter Greens?

ChefJohnCurrence: Winter are subject to interpretation.

ChefJohnCurrence: They could be any "bitter' green.

ChefJohnCurrence: There's no real definition of winter greens...

ChefJohnCurrence: Not like collards.

ChefJohnCurrence: More like chickories or arugula.

Brad: How did the Rebels do this year?

ChefJohnCurrence: Sooo.. The volleyball team is always on top.

ChefJohnCurrence: Can't speak for the football team...

Guest185: Is crawfish ever part of your menu?

ChefJohnCurrence: Almost never NOT part of my menu...

ChefJohnCurrence: On my last menu, we had savory crawfish cheese cake with a smoke tomato Coulis.

ChefJohnCurrence: I was at Crooks in the early days of Shrimp and Grits, but Bill would never take it to the extreme I wanted to go to.

ChefJohnCurrence: I always knew what I wanted to do with it.

ChefJohnCurrence: From 86 until 88. Its a big part of my start in cooking.

ChefJohnCurrence: Better mushrooms.

ChefJohnCurrence: Spicier Grits.

ChefJohnCurrence: More Cheese!

ChefJohnCurrence: More Flavor in general.

Guest185: Where do your crawfish come from -- from New Orleans?

ChefJohnCurrence: It depends... Lots comes from a broker in Memphis,

ChefJohnCurrence: "Tail Meat" comes from there.

Brad: Any final comments Chef?

Brad: Thank you so much for being here tonight - Chef.

ChefJohnCurrence: Thanks for logging on. I'm flattered.

ChefJohnCurrence: And come on down to City Grocery if you're ever in this neck of the woods.

Brad: And thank you everyone for participating.

ChefJohnCurrence: Thanks so much, everybody. Have a good night!

Brad: Stay tuned for next month's Chef Chat.

Brad: Goodnight everyone.