Age: 34; Residence: Squirrel Hill
In June 2007, Trevett Hooper opened Legume, a 34-seat bistro on South Braddock Avenue in Regent Square. He's come to accept the title "chef," although he admits it took a while to get used to it. His wife, Sarah, is co-owner and serves as maitre d'. The couple aim to provide as much locally grown food as possible on the menu without sacrificing quality. The ever-changing menu recently has featured goat ravioli, coho salmon and lamb from Jamison Farm in Latrobe.
Question: What led you to a culinary career?
Answer: I grew up in Orrington, Maine. I was a serious musician but ended up getting carpal tunnel syndrome when I was practicing obsessively for an audition to get into the New England Conservatory of Music. Sometime in my early 20s, I channeled all that energy into cooking. ... I've worked in a lot of settings -- serious high-end French, a few hotels, a bread bakery, Belgian and French pastry shops, and a few mom and pop places. I'm a jack-of-all-trades cook with mastery over nothing.
Question: What is it about cooking a meal for others that you find satisfying?
Answer: Teamwork. Our cooking line and dish station is smaller than many restaurants' walk-in cooler. During the prep day, it is extremely inefficient, with cooks running into each other all day. Yet we still manage to make everything from scratch with honest ingredients. Working side by side with cooks who care about the food as much as I do is extremely satisfying. So it is as much about cooking with people as for people that I find satisfying.
Question: What philosophy do you use at Legume?
Answer: My goal is to create a restaurant that could only exist in Pittsburgh. That means using food that is unique to this part of the country (local lamb, pork and produce, for example, and fish such as walleye) as much as possible and serving it in a friendly, laid-back way that represents the best qualities of living in Pittsburgh. I am proud to be a Pittsburgh chef.
Question: Do you have a signature dish⢠If so, what is it, and why do you consider it your signature?
Answer: Though I love the idea of the French chef who has his career defined by a few perfect dishes that have taken years to perfect, that is not how I cook right now. I am slowly trying to move in that direction, but it is difficult, because we are so dependent on a fragile network of niche farmers and purveyors to bring us our food. It is hard to consistently get certain ingredients, which is why we have to change our menu every day.
Question: What, if anything, do you cook at home?
Answer: Toast.
Question: Some people view cooking as a chore. Others see it as an expressive art. How do you see it?
Answer: Cooking in a home and in a restaurant are two different things. Cooking at home -- when there is laundry to fold, kids to clean up after, dogs that need walked -- can easily become a chore. In a professional setting, cooking itself is a craft at its best, not an art form. But when the chef and the maitre d' and the staff are all on the same page and can find subtle ways to inject sincere human spirit into the dining experience, it can become art.
