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As a kid working on his grandparent's farm in Wyoming every summer, Jason Bond's job was to pick the asparagus that grew in the fields where the cows grazed. A music major in college, he found himself reading more cookbooks than music books. "I knew I'd never play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, so I worked in restaurants throughout college," he joked. Always wanting to learn more about the restaurant business, Jason decided he'd make a better chef than a trombonist. "I cook better than I used to, but I don't play better." Jason is now the executive chef of Beacon Hill Hotel & Bistro in Boston. When asked if he misses the family farm in Wyoming with the river running through it, he says he sometimes wishes he could go back to that, but loves Boston too much to ever leave. |
Q: What's your favorite recipe and why?
I love recipes that are as close to possible to how you'd make it at home and how you blend the flavors. Things like chicken stew or chicken and noodles - there are a lot of ways to make them, but only one way you'd make it at home.
Q: What's your favorite combination of junk food and junk TV? (and why?)
I like a nice falafel when I watch Lost. It's usually 2:30am when I get home and Falafel Palace is the only place that's still open. And, they're good.
Q: Who would you like to invite to a dinner party (from history or today) and what would you serve them? (and why?)
I would really love to meet Paul Boucous. He seems like a real character. I think I'd serve him a chicken. I get really good chickens and they're the bald eagle of France. If I can make him a good chicken, that would impress him.
Q: What food do you hate? (and why?)
Honestly, I can't eat fast food. I'd rather go hungry. So anything in that category, I really hate. What those places serve is too far from food. But falafels don't count -- they actually make them there.
Q: What's your favorite kitchen tool or machine? (and why?)
I love cast iron pots. You can do anything with them. I have all sizes, different depths. Those are probably the things I'd least want to cook without.
Q: What is the hardest food for you to cook? (and why?)
The simpler the recipe, the more difficult, I find. Italian dishes seem simple when you look at them on the plate, but trying to get flavors perfect is very difficult. Especially when you're serving someone who knows what it should taste like, that's when you find out how little you really know.
Q: If you owned Milliway's, "the restaurant at the end of the universe" - what would you serve as the universe's last ever dish? (and why?)
Artichokes. You can just boil them and serve them with butter. It takes a long time to eat artichokes, so I'd make sure to serve something that takes awhile to get through.
Q: Who the best chef in the world other than you or your mum? (and why?)
I have to say my Grandmother. She wouldn't be considered a chef, but a darn good cook. Most of the stuff I do, I try to imitate her.
Q: What's your favorite cookbook? (and why?)
I love the old Boucous cookbook and recently bought Fergus Henderson's The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating as well as his newest one (Beyond Nose to Tail: More Omnivorous Recipes for the Adventurous Cook). The way he looks at things is just very creative.
Q: What do you have in your refrigerator?
Not very much! Purple asparagus from Verrill Farm, mustard from Paris, prosciutto I made from a pig in New Hampshire. There's several bottles of champagne and white wine. I know there's spoiled milk in there. I had some eggs, but they're gone.
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Chef in the "Hot Seat" 
