Matt Varga

 / PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY
/ PBN PHOTO/RUPERT WHITELEY

Matt Varga, 33, a Clinton, Conn., native and executive chef at Gracie’s in Providence, was originally hired in 2007 in the restaurant’s pastry department.

Other positions opened up and by 2010, he was promoted to his current post.

“I really love being part of a team, cooking in a professional kitchen,” he said. “It’s almost like a sport, constantly trying to get better and better.”

A JWU graduate with degrees in culinary arts and food-service management, Varga was “blown away” as a customer by Gracie’s attention to detail and presentation, but worked many other jobs before getting his foot in the door there. His first job, at age 15, was as a dishwasher at Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale in Madison, Conn. He also worked as a prep and line cook at Water’s Edge in Westbrook, Conn., and at Mill’s Tavern in Providence.

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Specialties at Gracie’s include homemade pasta, full-animal butchery and seasonality.

“We constantly change our tasting menu; courses change every week,” he said. “That really forces you to be creative with what you have available seasonally.”

The restaurant’s rooftop garden is a way to keep costs down while growing fresh produce, herbs and edible flowers.

“Gardening is something that goes hand in hand with cooking,” he explained. “It’s a way for me to get away, but also to mold the ingredients on the menu.”

Favorite dish to make: Sausage and rabe cavatelli

Dining when not cooking: Chez Pascal in Providence

Most admired living chef: Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco

Why Rhode Island: It’s close enough to home but far enough away

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