Inside Three Sisters with Sous Chef Randall

We chatted with Three Sisters Sous Chef Randall Roach to talk about his experience working in Three Sisters, how it keeps him inspired and how it’s changed him as a chef.

How does working at Blackberry, and Three Sisters specifically, stand out from other kitchens you’ve experienced?

Three Sisters has a lot of similar qualities to other restaurants I have worked in. There’s lots of drive, focus and attention to details. The things that stand out are our approach to our standards and how approachable our management team is. It's nice having a team that you know will always have your back and are willing to take time out of their day to really listen. Our foraging program and emphasis on working with open fire also sets us apart of lots of kitchen. Getting to cook in more primitive ways really helps us appreciate the food more and also get in touch with the land around us.

How would you describe the atmosphere and the vibe working at Three Sisters?

The atmosphere Chef Joey has created at Three Sisters definitely fits his personality. It’s friendly, family-oriented and focused. It's interesting to see a kitchen balance friendship and such high standards. In a lot of places I have worked, it's a much different dance. People take things too personally and loose friendships over petty arguments. Here, nothing is personal and our management team constantly works on our approach with our team and how we can better ourselves for them. And, from a cooking perspective, again getting to work with an open fire like we do is the most rewarding culinary experience a chef can have. The taste, the smell and the overall process is so magical.

In your personal experience, what is the biggest benefit you get from your job?

Definitely the push in creativity! Chef Joey knows how to get your creative juices flowing and can really push you into creating a truly fantastic dish, which in turn makes you a better chef. Outside of the kitchen, the travel benefits you get from Blackberry, the World Travel Program or simply the recognition of the Blackberry name, are incredible and essential to young chefs looking to continue their growth in the industry.

How has Blackberry Mountain encouraged your creativity or inspired what you want to create?

Our team is very into foraging, whether it be mushrooms, herbs or any other delicacies we can find. This is something I experienced working at The Barn at Blackberry Farm too. Incorporating foraged ingredients will take a lot of chefs outside their comfort zone which is essential to creating great chefs in my eyes. It has pushed me to grow as a chef and constantly be inspired by the seasons. Knowing when something grows, understanding the finite amount of time you have to use it, and experiencing the time you spent gathering the ingredients really allows you to appreciate it in its simplest form. It makes you want to highlight the ingredient and show it off. So, in the creativity aspect, it has made me think much simpler and really honed in my technique.

As you mentioned, some of our chef's forage for ingredients from the Mountain. How does foraging energize you to think outside the box?

For most foraged ingredients, you can't just Google recipes for how to use it. It really requires you to do a lot of research and to taste. It takes discussion with your peers, and talking as a team really gets everyone excited about the ingredient. This makes for really exciting dishes. If your team is excited about something, and so are you, usually those are the key ingredients to great dishes.