From Per Se to Providence, Maggie McConnell and Josh Finger Make It Personal

The menu changes regularly, sometimes nightly, but guests do not choose among dishes. “We attempt to curate everything about this experience for our guests so it’s only natural that we do that with the food selection too,” says McConnell. They make only two decisions: what to drink and whether to add supplements such as caviar or truffles. After that, “the night just unfolds in front of you,” she says.

The “show” starts with Claudine’s only “signature dish”: a Rhode Island oyster layered with a blanc de blancs Champagne mousseline infused with dehydrated oysters and Maine uni. It began as a rotating special, but after guests repeatedly praised it, Finger felt it was strong enough to stay. “You don’t create signature dishes, they create themselves,” he says. “It’s a culmination of everything we like and locality.” The dish also reduces waste: Oysters not used by the end of the week are preserved for the mousseline. The oyster is served atop a ceramic shell made by McConnell’s aunt. “She went down to the beach, collected oysters, made prints from them, and created three different kinds of shells,” McConnell says.

The oysters come from the Ocean State Shellfish Cooperative in Narragansett. McConnell and Finger drive to the co-op several times a week to pick them up and travel to Wild Harmony Farm in Exeter for pork. “We will travel far and wide to make sure we’re working with people who care about what they’re producing,” says McConnell.

Both chefs learned early in their careers that adding more does not always make a dish better. At Per Se, McConnell was taught that when composing a new plate, she should add what she thought looked balanced, then remove one item. “That’s when it’s perfect,” she says. “Because our brain always adds one too many.” In his early 20s, Finger ate a formative meal at Günter Seeger NY, where the German chef’s philosophy of respecting each ingredient’s purity was “very influential.”

Each dish at Claudine is limited to three or four bites. “You don’t want it to be overwhelming,” says Finger. When he spotlights a sunchoke, for instance, he pairs it with ingredients that support its earthy, nutty flavors. He might serve it five ways or as a simple soup garnished with grapes and ginger.

They bring the same restraint to familiar New England and Rhode Island dishes. Lobster, clams, and fresh fish are regional staples, and the chefs prepare them with precision while keeping their nostalgic appeal. “I love soup and the clear clam chowder speaks to me,” says Finger, who occasionally serves the creamless, Rhode Island-style chowder. For dessert, McConnell has made coffee milk ice cream inspired by Rhode Island’s official state drink, a mixture of milk and coffee syrup. “I am a pastry chef because I love sugar and all the sweets I grew up with,” says McConnell. “Desserts in general play really well with nostalgia; you grow up going to the ice cream parlor, eating birthday cakes and cupcakes, so I pick a technique to see how I can marry those two things to come up with something new.”

McConnell says she can’t imagine developing dishes without a partner in the industry. “I’ll be lying in bed thinking about something and [Josh] is lying in bed ready to talk about it,” she says. They do not try to keep work out of their home life. “It’s very rarely a ‘phone down’ situation because if I’m writing an email, Maggie’s writing it with me,” says Finger.