Haute Eating: 10 Questions for Chef Jesse Schenker

Have you ever wondered if chefs create menus with food that they actually love to eat themselves? With Chef Jesse Schenker of recently opened Recette, which sits tucked away on a quaint corner in the West Village, that is absolutely the case.

Chef Schenker, who once worked with Gordon Ramsay at The London NYC and then owned a popular private dining company aptly named Recette (which means recipe in French), has undoubtedly created a menu of items he loves: carefully thought out snacks and small dishes, from a variety of cheese (accompanied with jam and bread), charcuterie (foie gras terrine, prosciutto, e.g.), to more substantial plates such as crispy sweetbread with escarole and brown butter or branzino with beluga lentils and parsnip pureé. This shareable, mix and match menu is suitable whether you’re hunkering for a multi-course meal or just want to nibble on some marinated olives with a specialty cocktail like the Plaisir that contains Bombay gin, lime, basil and tonic.

Recette is that quintessential Village restaurant, best for an intimate dinner (i.e. a great date place): cozy and candlelit with food that’s sophisticated, modern, and ever evolving—food that Schenker loves to cook, and eat.

Haute Living: How has it been switching from private dining to public?

Jesses Schenker: Crazy, a lot of work, going from prepping one table a night to many while keeping the same level of standards and quality is a challenge but extremely rewarding.

Hl: What are some of your favorite dishes at Recette?

JS: The Hamachi with Uni and blood orange and jalepeno; the Pork Belly with Rock Shrimp and sherry caramel; Sweet breads with brown butter, lemon and capers

HL: Where do you like to dine when you’re not working?

JS: Since Recette has opened, I am always working but prior, I was a regular Craftbar. I like the street vendors, Peasant and Yakitori Toto.  I also love sushi.

HL: What’s your ideal meal?

(Continued)

JS: Start with good bread and butter, then some raw oysters, some charcuterie and olives, a nice arugula salad, lemon and great olive oil, definitely some crudo, marrow bones, fresh anchovies and I’m thinking this question is unanswerable because the list is endless.

HL: Your favorite special occasion spot?

JS: It’s a toss up: Gilt, Marea or The Modern

HL: What’s your favorite NYC neighborhood?

JS: The West Village

HL: What do you like to do in the city on your days off?

JS: I like to make trips to Kitchen Arts and Letters, and to Korin [a store known among chefs for its knives]. I like to see a good movie and grabbing the anchovy sandwich at ‘witchcraft.

HL: Your favorite vacation destination?

JS: My favorite place that I have been is Florence, Italy… but I’ve never been and want to go to The Basque region of Spain.

HL: What’s your most memorable meal?

JS: Alinea in Chicago with my dad.

HL: What are your five favorite ingredients?

JS: Olive oil. Kosher salt. Lemon. Sherry vinegar. Uni.

Recette

328 West 12th St. at Greenwich St

212-414-3000

Tracey Ceurvels can be reached at [email protected] or by visiting her blog, The Busy Hedonist