Chef Colt Taylor is mixing it up at The Essex

In the opening sequence to The Mind of a Chef show the logo is an exaggerated cartoon drawing of the brain with bright colors and all the sensory valves enhanced. Then the brain opens up to a myriad of ingredients and dishes thrust at the screen. Whenever I think of great chefs, that image of left and right brain exploding with ideas always comes to mind. Successful chefs clearly activate the artistic sensors with the need to explore and create; yet they also ignite a mind for business and success through understanding their market, region, and vendors. And my goodness, they withstand physically demanding long hours!

So, it is a very special treat to spend time with a Chef willing to let you into his or her own chef’s mind. Chef Colt Taylor of  e Essex treats his restaurant as a destination for incredible food, an art studio and laboratory to let creative minds explore, and a conference room where intentional business practices breed success. With its second anniversary under its belt. The Essex is becoming an ever-evolving platform for real exploration and, after spending three hours with Colt enjoying his latest seven course tasting menu, it’s clearly also a place for mind-blowing, delicious food.

From dabbling with pancakes and omelets at age six to becoming the cook for friends in high school and college, cooking has been an ongoing passion for as long as Colt remembers. Although he received plenty of push back for choosing the hospitality industry, he forged ahead at the Culinary Institute of America. Along the way, he discovered his great great grandmother, Basilda Barbieri, was Amy Vanderbilt’s private chef, not to mention, she helped write and test recipes for Vanderbilt’s cookbooks. “So, I guess the truth is, it was in my genes, “ admits Chef Taylor.

From cooking under esteemed chefs around Europe including the likes of Cerrone, Ripert, Sultner, and Shorner, from places like Gotham and The Four Seasons, Colt took full advantage of this time to learn and sharpen his own skills. He’s also served as Executive Chef of New York’s One If By Land, Two If By Sea, considered one of the most romantic restaurants around.

Chef's tattoo reflects his craft! Every dish is amazingly fresh - even the patty melt becomes a sublime tasting experience

All sustainable food isn't local, and all local food isn't sustainable. While we strongly believe in local when it aligns with our sustainable values, we will not source locally at the expense of social responsibility

Sometimes artists and writers will say, “You can break the rules, once you know the rules.” Colt demonstrates an impressive balance of that theory. His menu, plating, and demeanor represent both the studied, classically trained chef who can spout a glossary full of French cooking techniques he has used in kitchens around the world, and yet, in the same breath, he’ll speak about changing a menu for the 43rd time or playing in the kitchen with a mound of truffles, like a young boy ready for recess.

With substantial travel experience, cooking in and out of numerous kitchens, and learning under some of the most esteemed chefs around under his belt, Chef Taylor returned to Essex a few years ago to finally make his dream come true. Inspired by Thomas Keller and the friendly, sustainable business ecosystem Keller created with The French Laundry in California, Chef Taylor took his rich experiences and set out on his own path back home. It's a place he believes really has great potential, and of course, it’s where he got his start, at 13, working at the Saybrook Fish House.

Preserving the small-town charm, creating local jobs, using natural treasures, and bringing the community together, all while encouraging locals and visitors to look through an altered prism of eating possibilities, is at the core of what The Essex is doing. And in just two years, doing quite well!

Colt is committed to the mission, “I am a firm believer in being a student of your craft...delving into other chefs’ perspectives and minds through reading, exploring cookbooks, watching Chefs Table; it inspires and motivates you to look at things from a different angle. We love to do that. Not just change but evolve and shift our lens.”

We talked a lot about education and how it is a crucial tenet of Chef’s practice. “It begins with me as the chef and the owner. I am constantly hungry and yearning to learn. I frequently bring new ideas to life with the help of my team. One of the huge aspects of this business is that it’s a labor of love so you don’t really have cooks who are here just for the paycheck. In return, you need to give more to your staff. What I can give, what I choose to give, is what they are most hungry for, and that is growth. Growth comes through learning, through trying new things, through making mistakes. Every day is another opportunity and a chance to learn a new technique, a new flavor combination, a new ingredient. This constant learning model has become the backbone of positive energy for everyone on the team. Their desire to learn fuels me to continue pushing, so I can be a better teacher. If we have an idea, we explore it to the fullest extent, and try and execute.”

One of the most delicious bites from the tasting menu, a burst of nearly every flavor profile, is a testament of that exciting cross section of education and exploration under Chef Taylor’s helm. How did that amazing palate dance come to be? “Each dish is born in its own way and place and time. Last week, one of my team, Mina, brought in a bag of fresh chestnuts. As a teacher, I was trying to show how to use them so I had her score and roast them quickly. I then instructed her to cover them in cream and cook another hour over low heat and then blend to make a delicious chestnut pudding I’ve made in the past. Meanwhile, we had some yuzu curd we were making for a party, I broke some off, adjusted the flavor and consistency, loaded an iSi whipper, and made component number two. Before I knew it, I had a new metal bowl I’d been dying to use, so I plated up a dish with layers of foie gras, apple, yuzu and finished with pomegranate and juniper oil. Dipped some Japanese Milk toast in and realized that we had a winner!”

Another wonderful find came similarly. “Last year when truffle season came I bought about $3,000 of white truffles from Alba. Not a ton, but incredibly fragrant and perfumed. We put them on the menu at cost with a simple classic tagliatelle All’uovo dish. We only sold two because real truffles aren’t always understood by our audience. So now I’m sitting there with all of these valuable truffles. I had a rice cooker and we have a fermentation room, so I decided to take a risk and play. I loaded all the truffles into a blender with salt and Koji from our fermentation room, and a mushroom dashi. I fermented them for 12 weeks until I had the most concentrated white truffle taste I’d ever tasted! We extended the white truffle season by six months with this technique, and we were able to introduce true truffle flavor for a seriously approachable price. Playing with your food is about being well read, organized, and moving in a direction with purpose. Why am I doing this? What is my goal? And then tucking away fear, because if it doesn’t work, you can move on from it. If it’s not perfect, you can tweak it; but when it does click, it’s the most gratifying thing in the kitchen.”

A part of Colt’s mission is also to understand, communicate, and incorporate best practices across his business but especially in procuring his ingredients. In terms of local and sustainable, he expresses many complications. For Chef, it is not always so cut and dry or either/or. “We have put sustainability at the forefront of our sourcing. Working with incredible farms like Snake River Farms in Boise, Idaho, and with strong mission based environmental programs like Monterey Bay Ocean Watch. We have put our environmental responsibility at the forefront. So, what is the difference between local and sustainable? Local food is simply produced and consumed within close proximity. Sustainable food is food that is produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. “All sustainable food isn't local, and all local food isn't sustainable. While we strongly believe in local when it aligns with our sustainable values, we will not source locally at the expense of social responsibility.”

Chef Taylor and The Essex Restaurant are doing what few food havens can do. It is truly a three in one experience. Taking advantage of the beautiful location near the steam train, it is a forty-seat fine dining, cozy, central spot for great eating where Taylor and his team explore what they call “Sustainable Scratch cooking.” Across the bar (they call it the Distillery), is Los Charros Cantina, a bustling nook, and one of the only places in town to get fresh, Mexican cuisine. Then, when you just can’t eat any more, diners can head upstairs to the Coco Club, where they’ll grab a creative cocktail under dim purple lights and lounge to their hearts’ content on funky comfortable leather seating.

Essex is no longer just a quaint, sleepy town with great architecture and a popular steam train; Colt hopes it will be more of a destination for incredible, quality food as well. Many coming to Connecticut don’t make it past Fairfield County for great restaurants. Although they are there for sure, Chef hopes people will take a drive, enjoy what the rest of the state, and his corner along the shore, has to offer. Importantly, Chef Colt has only just begun. If the buzz around The Essex is what it is now just after two years, one can only imagine what will come in another two. With his hand in many pots, promoting education and community, creativity and exploration, Taylor has cast his net both near and far. “It is the quintessential dream restaurant. One that has no rules, one that answers to no one. One fueled by passion, love, and education.”

• The Essex is located at 30 Main Street in Centerbrook. Follow Chef Colt on Instragram @chefcolttaylor or @theessexrestaurant. Online at theessex.com