A Q&A with Chef Suzanne Goin

The annual Passing the Torch event at Blackberry Farm is a special culinary experience, designed to enchant serious wine and food lovers, that benefits the Sam Beall Fellows Program. This year, we’re excited to welcome Chef Suzanne Goin as our guest chef. Suzanne is a four-time James Beard Foundation award-winning chef and cookbook author. She runs two outposts of her farmers’ market-driven small plates restaurant, A.O.C., and oversees the food and beverage services for the Hollywood Bowl. In addition, Suzanne opened two new restaurants – Caldo Verde and Cara Cara – at The Downtown L.A. Proper Hotel in 2021.

In anticipation of her trip to East Tennessee and the opportunity to share her incredible cooking with Blackberry guests, we chatted with Suzanne about ingredients she loves, what and who inspired her to cook, and life outside the kitchen. Learn more about Suzanne and make your reservation to join us for this memorable Summer gathering.

What's your Achilles heel ingredient, one that you struggle to work with?
It’s so funny to be asked this question today, because I just spent the whole morning trying to make something delicious with loquats. Loquat trees are ubiquitous in Southern California. I even have two big ones in my backyard. They are quite prolific in the Spring and also make quite a mess – but I still love them. Anyway, they are a lot of work because they need to be peeled and seeded, but I really, really, really want to love them and make something special. I played around with pickling them, making a compote, and cooking them with tamarind, citrus peel and ginger. I was hoping to use them on a pork chop or a grilled duck breast. At the end of the day, no matter how much my AOC Chef James Ho and I tried, and how badly we wanted them to be great, they were just good, not great. And the cherries we found at the farmer’s market yesterday morning put them to shame!

Who has been a mentor to you?
Johanne Killeen and George Germon from Al Forno, who first exposed me to seasonal local cooking and wood fired grills

Catherine Brandell, Peggy Smith, David Tanis, Alice Waters and all the cooks from my time at Chez Panisse.

Nancy Silverton from my time at Campanile. She really encouraged me to open my own place and was even the first person to suggest the space that became Lucques.

What’s your favorite seasonal ingredient for each season?
Spring – green garlic and fava beans

Summer – perfect heirloom melons and ripe nectarines

Fall – pomegranates and persimmons

Winter – kabocha squash and chanterelles

What was your most memorable meal?
I feel so lucky to have had quite a few, but one of the most memorable was lunch at Roger Verge’s Moulin de Mougins when I was 14 or so. We started in the garden. The (handsome!) servers were so kind to my sister and me. We had, among other things, turbot with cucumbers cut into perfect half-moons and places like the fish scales. Just as they were serving the incredible abundant cheese display – in a gorgeous Provencal woven tray – it began to rain. The staff scurried us inside and seamlessly set us up at an equally stunning indoor table for dessert. The food was incredible, the service warm and charming, the atmosphere magical.

What destination or life experience has inspired your cooking the most?
I think it was the life experience of cooking and eating with my family for all of my childhood that most inspired my passion for cooking and for time around the table. I have been inspired, of course, along the way by everyone I have worked for and the beautiful bounty our local farmers bring from the fields. But at the end of the day, it all started at home when I was a kid.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not in the kitchen?
Hiking, traveling, hanging with my family and friends, reading by myself, working on yoga and practicing my French. Sadly, this is all a smaller percentage of my time at the moment!

What's your signature party or potluck dish to make at home for friends?
There’s a caramelized bread and butter pudding I have been making for years. I wouldn’t say I make it that often, but it’s probably the closest thing. My husband, David, cooks a lot when we have people over. So, often, the house specialty is crab cake benedicts with smoked bacon.

What’s on your kitchen playlist to listen to when you cook?
I don’t like music in the kitchen at work. Everything is already too frantic and fast paced – it gives me anxiety. But at home, there is always music on. If I’m prepping with my daughter, it’s the score of Hamilton (yes, still!), Billy Joel, Elton John or Adele. With David, we listen to Radiohead, My Morning Jacket, and have been mixing in some Willie Nelson and some jazz. We love Kamasi Washington, etc. By myself, right now, it’s retro – The Smiths, The Jam, etc. – but I really like to mix it up!

What's your favorite food destination/city to visit, and what do you like to eat there?
Honestly, I don’t have a favorite. There are so many places I love to go. Singapore is incredible, and I love visiting the Hawker Centers and trying out whatever I see everyone around me eating. I think the turnip cake may be my favorite! New Orleans is obviously another great food city. I love to visit all of Donald Link’s restaurants, as well as hitting some old school spots like Galatoires, especially for Friday Lunch (amazing spirit and people watching), Casamentos for oysters and Turkey and the Wolf for sandwiches. (We are super excited Mason Hereford will be joining us in LA at Caldo Verde for a book dinner on September 26!)

If you had not become a chef, what profession would you have chosen?
I think something in history or international relations – maybe foreign service. I have always loved to travel and try to understand history and the world on a deeper level.

Click here to learn more about Passing the Torch and to book your stay to join the event.