Historical Hospitality

The 40th Anniversary of the Chester Historical Society

Saturday, April 24

Cost: $100 per person

For reservations, call JoAnne Park at 860-767-7032 between

9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, or 860-526-9875 before April l8 for tickets or visit www.chesterhistoricalsociety.org.

Chris Pardue had just finished a temporary gig as a holiday Santa Claus when, walking down a hall at Hastings College in Nebraska, he peered into a window and saw a chef preparing meals for students.

He can't explain why, but he was fascinated. A dramatic arts major, Chris admits that college had yet to capture his enthusiasm. But that was before he got a job at the college kitchen in which, he says, he learned how to create meals for 500 students.

Today, Chris is the chef at Chester Village West and he will be preparing hors d'oeuvres for the upcoming 40th anniversary celebration of the Chester Historical Society, Historical Hospitality, on Saturday, April 24. After hors d'oeuvres at the Mill, the headquarters of the historical society, guests will move on to gourmet dinners in historic local homes catered or created by local gourmets. Profits from the event will go towards helping the historical society preserve Chester's past in the group's new museum.

Chris says the hors d'oeuvres will feature seasonal, local produce, just as his meals at Chester Village West do. He is thinking of rabbit pate, a dish he knows for some evokes thoughts of an unlucky Bugs Bunny. Chris, however, has a solution.

"Just think of it as chicken," he says.

After finishing college, Chris went on to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He says it was an eye-opening experience for a young man who had grown up with biscuits and red-eye gravy in Colorado.

"It was a great springboard, a place to experiment, to gather skills," he recalls.

He says culinary school helped him identify with Meryl Streep as Julia Child in with the recent movie Julie & Julia.

"The movie was a just a hoot, particularly that julienne of onions," he says of a scene in which Julia Child vigorously cuts a huge pile of onions to perfect her slicing technique.

What's more, he points out, Streep's parents were at one time residents of Chester Village West and he recalls meeting the actress.

Chris says that the residents at Chester Village West are a discerning and appreciative audience. In a restaurant, he notes, people come and go, but at Chester Village West he is acquainted with his diners.

"It's very rewarding to cook for people you know," he says.

He tries to mix familiar comfort foods like roast loin of pork with more adventurous dishes like Moroccan lamb stew. The kitchen makes all its own stocks and sauces.

"That way we can control salt and preservatives," Chris explains.

For some 10 years before coming to Chester Village West, Chris was a chef and owner of L'Americain in Hartford, a restaurant that won praise from reviewers like Marian Burros of The New York Times, who praised Chris's "stylish but unfussy dishes." There was, he says, a flip side to the glamour of the restaurant business.

"It's really grounded in blue collar work-demanding, hot, long hours at night," he says.

At Chester Village West, Chris says he still works long hours, but a more regular schedule means he has time to eat dinner with his wife Deb, an elementary school teacher in Old Lyme. Chris and Deb, who have two grown sons, live in Mystic.

Chris doesn't get time off at home-he still cooks most of the family meals and he also pursues another hobby: bread baking. He says he still has a sourdough starter that he first made 15 years ago.

"I aspire to be a Howard Kaplan," he says, of the well-known local baker in Chester.

Though he didn't grow up near the water, Chris is now both a boater and a fisherman. With his younger son, he has restored a l9-foot wooden powerboat in which he goes saltwater fly-fishing, mostly for striped bass. Though most of the fishing is catch and release, he says he occasionally puts a fish on the grill.

Since he was 12 years old he has loved playing the drums, Chris says, though he recalls his family banished him to the garage for practice sessions. Now he plays with a local group, Autopilot, that features classic rock 'n roll. The group performs at spots like the Ivory Pub in Deep River and La Vita Gustosa in East Haddam. And practicing is no longer a gig for the garage. The wife of one of Autopilot's members now lets the group rehearse in their basement.

Though music has always been an important part of his life, Chris says he never considered drumming as a career.

"It's just a side hobby. We play about once a month on average. I do it for the joy," he says.

On a daily basis, Chris fights one of the occupational hazards of a culinary career-weight gain. At Chester Village West, he says, the kitchen makes its own deserts.

"It would be so easy to have a taste of everything, but I've learned to say 'No' more than I say 'Yes.' I've never been overweight," he says.

To keep it that way, Chris goes to the gym after leaving work every day-"It takes daily discipline."

Chris says he is a relaxed diner when he goes to other restaurants, not a critic.

"I'm not judgmental," he says. "I'm just so glad someone else is cooking for me."