Interview with Chef Chad Crete of The Iberian Pig

Atlanta | USA

Q. Hi Chad. Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk with us. As the Executive Chef for one of Atlanta’s top restaurants (THE top accounting to Atlanta Magazine’s Final Fork survey), how would you describe the restaurant for our readers who don’t yet know about you?

A.We were very pleased to be voted Atlanta’s Favorite restaurant by the readers of Atlanta Magazine. We have always been focused on using the ingredients and cuisines of Spain as inspiration to create a unique dining experience in Atlanta. We have continued to evolve the restaurant and our menu to ensure that our guests are continually excited to come back. It is always a fine balance of keeping mainstays and also evolving. We are confident that we offer dishes unlike any others you can get in Atlanta and that gives us an advantage.

Q. You must run a tight team in the kitchen to handle the sort of intense bursts of volume you get. Who does what?

A. Well we certainly have a great team in the kitchen. The daily operations are run by my Chef de Cuisine, Landon Thompson and two sous chefs, Ryan Goss and Josh Musick. In addition to them we have been fortunate to have relatively low turnover in the kitchen which certainly helps with maintaining consistency. It is certainly difficult to be able to maintain the level of intricacy within our menu at the same time being able to do it such a high volume. It is certainly something we take into account as we change our menu and add/remove dishes.

Q. As a local Atlantan, I’ve been in to The Iberian Pig for dinner several times, I love the unique takes you put on some Classic Spanish dishes. Is there a deliberate approach to this or did this just sort of evolve!

A. It is certainly a deliberate approach. Anytime that we create new dishes we think about how they will be received by our guests. The items we are able to serve now are not the same types of dishes we served in the beginning. It takes time to develop that trust with your guests.

Q. The wines! I love Spanish wine. Who is behind your wine program and how do you/determine what makes the cut?

A. I have done the wine list since we have been open. The program itself and the format were created by myself and my business partner Fred Castellucci. It is a constant process of tasting and seeing which wines are needed based on price point, varietal, and region. We have focused our wine list on Spanish and Southern American selections and we stay true to those regions. The program is slowly being taken over by my General Manager and one of our servers who has taken the first level sommelier exam and is looking to gain experience creating a wine list.

Q. Prosciutto di Parma in the Italian corner vs. Jamon Iberico in the Spanish corner. How would you tell a newbie what the differences are?

A. They are very distinctly different. Prosciutto di Parma tends to be sweeter and saltier while Jamon Iberico is a little more firm, nutty, and very rich. The difference comes from the breed of pig as well as their diets. Iberian Pigs feast on acorns the last three to four months before they are processed and that has a big influence on the taste and texture of their meat.

Q. Anything interesting planned for the Fall menu you might tells us about?

A. We just released our fall/winter menu last week. We tend to bring back some great fall/winter dishes year after year. For instance, on one of my last trips to Spain I discovered the great flavor combination of Morcilla (blood sausage) and corn or butternut squash. On this menu we have a new dish with pan seared scallops, butternut squash puree, and a sauté of sunchokes, morcilla sausage, and piquillo peppers. The flavors work awesome together and have been a big hit. Additionally we have a new dish: Fricando which is a Catalan style stew with chickpeas, tomato, charcuterie, celery root, and pimento. We top that off with some braised short rib in a cast iron and finish with pickled sweet peppers. It is the kind of dish you want to indulge in on a cool fall/winter day!

Q. How did you become a chef? What was your path?

A. Well I have been working in kitchens since I was 14 years old. I started off as a dishwasher and caught the bug from there. Ever since then I have had the pleasure of working with some great chefs along the way. I actually never did go to Culinary school. I had the opportunity to attend The Hotel School at Cornell University and I had a great experience. That is also where I met my current business partner.

Q. Are there any key Chefs you perhaps look to for inspiration?

A. I would not say there are any in particular but I am constantly reading and looking through cookbooks. I started collecting cookbooks a few years back and my collection has gotten pretty extensive. I have a library of inspiration when I am looking for new ideas.

Q. Final question. You can go anywhere in the USA this weekend for two amazing meals. Where would you go?

A. That is certainly a difficult question! There are so many great places I still want to check out. I have wanted to take a trip to LA and check out Jonny Shook and Vinny Dotolo’s two restaurants Animal and Son of a Gun. These guys just seem to have a great philosophy and approach to food that I think is unique and fun. There will always be a place for restaurants like Alinea and The French Laundry but I like to see talented chefs opening up casual spots with creative food.

Thanks Chad for taking the time to sit with us today for this Interview.