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People we enjoy chatting with: Konstantinos Pitsillides
kanellarestaurant.com
People we enjoy chatting with: Konstantinos Pitsillides
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| kanellarestaurant.com |
Konstantinos Pitsillides, chef/owner of Kanella at 10th and Spruce, is someone we very much like to talk to, because aside from being a knowledgable, passionate chef, he's also pretty damn funny and outwardly opinionated. (You might've caught one of the written rants he likes to post in his kitchen window.) Here and there, he'll call us out of the blue, just to share what's on his mind. Today was one of those days. After the jump, check out the chef's thoughts on the so-called trend of chefs serving organ meats (note: Pitsillides does not think this is a trend) and on his recent James Beard nod.
On the offal "trend": People are saying secondary cuts of meat are taking over. I've been doing this from day one, if you know what I mean. Nobody ever says, "This guy believes in what he is doing, with head-to-tail cooking." I'm not chasing after anything. I grew up with all these kinds of things. We're not trendy restaurant. Even when I started cooking 20 years ago, I will tell some chefs, "Let's skin the rabbit," and they won't even touch it. [They don't know] how to kill an animal and remove the skin. To feel the food.
[With offal], I run everything on specials. Now I'm doing guinea fowl and other poultry, goat and rabbit, but I do specials like lamb tongue, lamb testicle. I did a duck platter and sold it out. Duck's liver, duck's testicles and duck's tongues with a Greek salad. Grilled, sautéed and braised. We're doing it because we feel it. We've been doing it for awhile.
On his Beard semifinalist nod for "Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic": They called me and of course I'm not going to say no. But what I really care about is what I have on my window. What really matters to me is to see smiling faces from my customers when I give them food. I'm not 24 anymore. I'm 41. I passed by the primadonna stage.
This should be a recurring feature!
Please ,dont take me wrong. I am not an arrogant shit. My opinion is based on my long hard experiences,mostly in europe. If anybody has a problem with my signs on my window...they are very welcome to come and discuss those with me. Why so much fuss? Is it such a Taboo posting signs snd expressing my frustrations and opinions? I am not after anything.I am just a simple ,emotional chef who loves his profession,very much indeed. Konstantinos Pitsillides
My wife and I drove up from Baltimore MD this past weekend, with the Cyprus Breakfast as one of our "must do" experiences. It was truly the best breakfast either of us have ever eaten. I was absolutely delighted to experience the subtle flavors, saltiness, sweetness, and varied textures that were coaxed from the materials. As a severe amateur that has only recently taken an interest in cooking, I am humbled and encouraged by the Cyprus Breakfast - it sets a benchmark that I will work towards at home. Inspired dish! Chef Pitsillides can be as opinionated as he cares to be - I for one find it refreshing that someone can be so outwardly passionate about their work, and any writings he decides to post to me is just another facet of his creative output. The beautiful thing about this country: you can agree or disagree with what he has to say, and move on. I wish more people would feel confident enough to express their opinions, and that others could respect a difference of opinion and wouldn't feel the need to make everything into an argument that must be won.
[...] dinner, paired with international beers provided by The Foodery, on Monday, June 7. Pitsillides, who’s passionate about honoring the whole animal, will cook cuts like lamb’s tongue, duck liver and rabbit saddle; for dessert he’s [...]
[...] chef/owner Konstantinos Pitsillides, with whom we very much enjoy chatting, checks in with this news: Starting on Father’s Day, the Cypriot BYOB (1oth and Spruce) will [...]
[...] Pitsillides of Kanella (1001 Spruce St.) — one of our favorite chefs with whom to chat — is next up to bat in Stephen Starr’s pop-up restaurant series at Washington Square, the [...]
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