Please welcome Charlie Foster, Executive Chef at the new Woods Hill Table in West Concord. After many years honing his craft at some of the finest restaurants in Boston, Europe and New York, Charlie is back in New England.
Born and raised in nearby Foxboro, Charlie got his first taste of ‘the cook’s life’ during his freshman summer while working at The Tavern on Nantucket. “It was four months of craziness with people that had been living this life for years. I’d work 8am until 4pm at The Tavern, then 5pm until 9pm at The Lobster Trap,” Charlie explains. “I spent hours grilling steaks and boiling lobsters. I burned myself a lot, but at the same time, I found my passion. And I began to understand there was more I wanted to learn about food.”
Charlie set off on an amazing culinary adventure that took him first to Spain as the personal chef for the Guinness family (Yes, THAT Guinness family!) “Being in Europe gave me a deeper appreciation for the seasonality of foods – how much the cuisines of different cultures are based around eating the right foods at the right time.”
While still attending, Northeastern University, Charlie continued to apprentice on-his-feet, working with James Beard Award Winning chef, Ken Oringer, at Clio in Back Bay – one of the finest restaurants in Boston and a Top 50 Restaurant in America. “Five days a week I went to class. Then on the weekends, I’d head to Clio, jump on the line, and work like heck to serve up seven hundred plates per night.” Charlie looks back at that experience with awe, “Every week, the menu was totally different. The constant change was a huge challenge for the kitchen and the perfect schooling for me.”
A call from a fellow Clio alum transported Charlie to New York City where he was eventually hired as executive sous chef at DBGB, a bistro about which the New York Times raves, “This kitchen puts out perfectly cooked food.” Charlie quickly advanced to Executive Chef of Daniel Boulud’s always busy downtown outpost. “I learned everything I could about how to run a great restaurant and serve excellent food in a high volume environment.” At the same time, “I was getting really passionate about local ingredients. That’s where the deepest flavors come from, the freshest foods.”
Hearing about Kristin Canty’s ambitious venture, Charlie jumped at the chance to launch the new kitchen at Woods Hill Table. “Our primary focus is flavor. The goal is to develop a style of cuisine based around the community, a place where our neighbors enjoy amazing food – and then we get to tell them, of course it’s local, why wouldn’t it be?”
Charlie is working with the team at The Farm at Woods Hill (www.farmatwoodshill.com) to perfect our pasture-raised meats and poultry. He’s also building long-term partnerships with local farmers. “We are already working with some talented and dedicated farmers who have agreed to grow some crops exclusively for our restaurant.”
Charlie’s food will always stress his commitment to nutrition. “Healthy doesn’t mean sad. As food professionals, it is our responsibility to make and serve food that is excellent, and at the same time we must be stewards of the environment,” according to Charlie. “It’s all connected. If your raise it right, and grow it right, you get much better nutrition and much better tasting food.”
Charlie is looking forward to serving you when Woods Hill Table opens early 2015.