Online Extra
A conversation
with Frank Stitt …

NYT writer Warrent St. John recently sat down with Stitt to discuss his new book

By Laura McAlister
It’s the middle of the night and Chef Frank Stitt’s phone rings. It’s a warden from a southern penitentiary calling to fulfill a dying man’s request. He wants his last meal to be anything the chef will prepare him.

So it was a hypothetical question, but one Stitt, owner and chef of three of the city’s finest restaurants - Highlands Bar and Grill, Bottega Restaurant and Chez Fonfon - took seriously when recently asked by New York Times writer Warren St. John.

“I would have to consult,” Stitt said. “It would depend on what month it was and the season … what the day was like. Food should be exciting, creative and restorative.”

Stitt sat down Nov. 30 for a conversation with St. John in front of a packed crowd at the Alys Stephens to discuss his new book, “Bottega Flavorita,” and his thoughts on cooking and the restaurant business.

Part of the stage was set like a cozy study with two chairs and a coffee table. That’s where most of Stitt’s and St. John’s conversation took place. The other half of the stage had the look of a rustic Italian kitchen with a wooden butcher block table in front of a rack filled with ingredients, wine and copper pots and pans. That’s where the chef would later prepare his version of the perfect antipasto.

St. John and Stitt may actually seem like an unlikely pairing for the event, but the two actually go way back.

They met when their first books were being published. For Stitt, that was “Southern Table: Recipes and Gracious Traditions from Highlands Bar and Grill,” and for St. John it was “Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer: A Journey into the Heart of Fan Mania.” At least that’s when Stitt was introduced to St. John.

Being an Alabama native, St. John had been a fan of Stitt’s for years and even described himself as somewhat of a “stalker” of the chef.

They both share a passion for food and have even found similarities in their different careers. Like writing or creating anything, Stitt describes the different courses that make up a meal as a “progression.”

At Bottega, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year, Stitt mingles Italian and Southern cuisine, which to him, have much in common.

“In Italy they love greens,” he said. “That kind of relates to turnips and collard greens here. Another thing is they love cured meats. Well, southerners love pork fat. Both appreciate rustic cooking. (Food) is prepared with love and care in both traditions.”

Love and care combined with the freshest, local ingredients have made Bottega and Stitt’s other restaurants so successful.

When he opened Highlands Bar and Grill in the early 1980s he was one of only a few chefs who was actually the owner, too. He said that allowed flexibility for him to change the menu and always cook with the best, freshest local ingredients. “I actually love doing menus,” he said. “I love the progression of food. It’s like music.”

As for as the death row inmate, the progression of his meal would start something like this in Stitt’s mind:

Being the beginning of December, it would start with a fresh fish with truffles. Then, a risotto with mushrooms possibly followed by a game dish. To end this final meal, a meringue cake.

Hearing Stitt describe it, the meal truly does sound like one to die for.
January Birmingham, Alabama

  

 
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