Inside the Kitchen: Seven Questions with Evan Hennessey of Stages in Dover

Chicken noodle soup. I mean, soup is a really comforting thing anyway, and I've always loved chicken noodle. Now I take my time when I make it and use ingredients from the farm stand close to my house. It's nothing fancy, just solid cooking and fresh ingredients. For me, it's chicken thighs, carrots, celery root, celery, onions, and almost too much garlic. A rich roasted chicken stock, a light roux, and finished with a bunch of rough-chopped parsley.

It's my mother's macaroni and cheese. It's nothing fancy or refined in any way, but it's something I grew up on and brings me back to my childhood, with memories of overfilling my plate and asking for more. It also brings my mom great happiness when we ask for it, so to know that is a way to always connect back to my upbringing.

I think it’s when absolute care, refinement, and intention are given to every detail, and the whole restaurant works in perfect harmony. It’s when the sum of those parts are shared with guests in a way that makes them feel truly special, like they have been to your place a million times. It's when the perfect balance of maturity and creativity occurs and is delivered in such an elegant way that every step of the experience leaves guests thinking, “Wow, how did they do/know that?”

I’m not even sure where I’ll stop. I want to continue to create places that have a long-lasting and positive effect on the restaurant industry. And that’s for guests and employees. I see so many niches in the market that could be done better or with more care and intention. I really just want people to be happy and feel like they have a place to call theirs.

 

As far as high-end, Maaemo. Otherwise, I would love to tour around northern Europe, as well as spend more time in Italy specifically.

Everything with intention.

I treat cooking like my approach to life. Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes it’s easy, but it always needs to be right where you should be.

Pretzels and hummus, or pizza. I could curl up with either.