By Steve Marsey
If there were a lineup to pick out chefs, Thomas Yager probably would be the least likely IDed. Tall, slender and meek, there’s none of the swagger or swelled ego that one might expect from such a young man holding the title of Executive Chef at Taste, the specialty food store with seven area locations. Throwing neither sauté pans nor tantrums, Thomas quietly guides his team through the daily production schedule while creating new menu items and procuring the finest ingredients. As blessed as we are to have Taste, which was founded as Taste Unlimited by the late Peter Coe and is now owned by Jon and Peter Pruden, we are equally lucky that Thomas is running the Taste kitchen.
Steve: Are you the taste of Taste?
Chef Thomas: Yes, you could say that. I work with a great group of people and am allowed to come up with new items. I worked with Peter Coe on his last one, the rotisserie chicken rub. It had six recipes before the final version which is the Taste Signature Rub. Peter hired me for this job.
Steve: How did you come to apply?
Chef Thomas: I grew up in Elizabeth City and worked at the Cypress Creek Grill. From there I went to the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). What started as an internship at Founders Inn lasted four years. For the past five, I’ve been executive chef at Taste.
Steve: What do you consider your signature creation at Taste?
Chef Thomas: I think the Surry Porksicles are amazing. They’re smoked pork belly wrapped in Edwards Virginia Smokehouse bacon and glazed with an apple cider reduction.
Steve: What’s most exciting about working here?
Chef Thomas: Being surrounded by awesome food. There are all these different gourmet products, small batch jams and sauces. And being around the cheeses and charcuterie, for which I’m the buyer.
Steve: And keeping regular hours doesn’t hurt either, I suppose. What do you miss most about working in a restaurant kitchen?
Chef Thomas: My wife and I have two young daughters so I do appreciate a more normal work schedule. I miss the adrenalin rush when the restaurant was full and going all out to keep up with the tickets.
Steve: Miss anything else?
Chef Thomas: No.
Steve: How often do you go out to eat and what are your favorites?
Chef Thomas: Not enough, but we have our family favorite – Bad Habits in Great Bridge, and I always get the shrimp tacos. Back in Elizabeth City, I return to Cypress Creek Grill.
Steve: If you could invent a kitchen gadget, what would it be?
Chef Thomas: A smoker attachment for a convection oven to speed up the process. I would smoke a lot more if I had one.
Steve: It looks like you have a smooth running kitchen. Does anything happen back there that particularly irks you?
Chef Thomas: I hate seeing sanitation gloves on the floor next to the trash can. You got it so close, but what happened?
Steve: You do some traveling and go to the big food shows. Any national food trends that you would like to see here?
Chef Thomas: In California, I saw a lot of different vegetables being pickled other than cucumbers like zucchini and cauliflower. And today’s jerkys have great flavor. At Taste, we carry Epic jerkys.
Steve: Nice plug. Are we getting a “Taste” for lunch?
Chef Thomas: I want to set you up with my favorite sandwich, The Lynnhaven. It’s with warm chicken breast, bacon, spinach, and pimento cheese. And we can snack on some bison jerky and pickled okra.
Steve: All washed down with Bleinheim ginger ale, the most refreshing I ever swallowed. That was followed by chocolate torte garnished with whipped cream. A pleasant repast, tastefully done.
Steve Marsey received his Associate in Applied Science in Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University. If you know someone who would like to be interviewed for “Lunch with the Chef,” you may contact Steve at [email protected].
