Rising Star: Bryan Voltaggio's Volt

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Bryan Voltaggio's Volt restaurant in Frederick, MD, is worth a detour. Super Chef interviewed Bryan five years ago at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington DC, where he was executive chef until he opened Volt a few months ago. At the time, Super Chef was curious if chefs who run the restaurant kitchens of super chefs want to be super chefs themselves. In Bryan's case, he dreamed of owning his own restaurant in the town where he grew up, which would use local ingredients as much as possible. He was grateful for all the lessons and management expertise he had learned working in the Palmer empire, but he said he the kind of chef who chooses to work in their own restaurant. Turns out that Bryan is on his way to getting everything he wanted – and that means good things for diners at his restaurant. Super Chef interviewed Bryan during a recent lunch at Volt. Super Chef: Why are you in Frederick rather than Washington? Bryan Voltaggio: I think the draw of Washington is the politics; it has become a dining destination, because it is more of a transient town. When I was working on Capitol Hil I noticed that it is all revitalized, there were new businesses coming in. So, no matter what is happening in the economy now, DC is the focus. For me to come back to my hometown was a decision to be closer to my family, but also to be close to DC. Frederick is growing as much as DC. Business is booming. We are only 50 miles from the capital. His hometown Frederick, Maryland, happens to have a stunning old downtown with 18th and 19th century townhouses along tree-lined brick sidewalks, plenty of good antiquing, a theater, and a ballet company. Bryan is one of those young chefs who could open their first restaurant in New York, LA, Chicago or even Washington DC, but decided to come back to their hometown and wow the locals and visitors alike. It is happening in other small, wealthy, rapidly growing smaller towns, (like Easton, Maryland -- see "Richard Hamilton: Restaurant Local") and helping to revive downtowns, improve dining and put places like Frederick on the culinary map. Volt is housed on the ground floor of an imposing 19th century brownstone mansion. Inside, it is clean and modern, with lovingly restored wood floors, and wood molding in the bar and dining room, and original tile work on the floors. Super Chef ate lunch at a chef's table – a 16 seat (four table) room adjacent to the kitchen – which is surprisingly quiet, clean and Zen-like with light streaming in from windows with small rosemary plants. (There is also a bar/lounge, a main diningroom and a private dining room with a view of the mansion's walled garden.) Bryan's commitment to supplying his restaurant with locally grown ingredients has not been easy. Frederick, only an hour away from Washington DC and Baltimore, is still a huge farming county, but it is no longer as rural as it once was. Bryan learned that some farmers have been burned by chefs who promise to buy organic, sustainably grown produce, only to balk at the price, or go bust before they can use the goods. He has had to convince farmers to trust him. "I tell them I am the owner, so I am not backing down." He recently bought two locally-raised hogs for Volt, one coming from a 4H competition at the Great Frederick Fair. Super Chef is looking forward to enjoying Bryan's salumi and sausages this fall. Super Chef: How committed are you to being a locavore here? How important is that to Volt? Bryan Voltaggio: It is absolutely important. All of our cusine is based on using as much local ingredients as possible. We realize that not all of our ingredients can be local, so we want it to fall under three criteria. local, organic and sustainable. Frederick is a huge farming community, I grew up here so I know farmers in the area. There are a lot of farmers who are growing specialty products. They are growing things for us, they want to, they are very proud of their products. I go to the markets every week - there is great produce here. They are excited about us, because we appreciate their product as much as they do. Super Chef: Do you have friends who you grew up with who have inherited family farms? Bryan Voltaggio: One of our cooks inherited a farm, and he is growing stuff for us, he just brought in some melons and tomatoes That kind of relationship is just starting, but I look at it five years down the road. There is a farmer in Gaithersberg. who is setting aside three acres just for us in next year's growing season. That is pretty interesting. There aren't a lot of chefs that have that access to local produce in their backyard. Super Chef: What about the winter? Bryan Voltaggio: We are canning. We have done cherries, tomatoes. We do a lot so we can carry flavors to the winter. It will get a little tougher in the winter months, but there are green houses around here and they can grow for us, too. The climate here - we can't get everything all year around. It isn't Southern California. But as long as produce falls within one of our three criteria we feel we are being responsible. The exciting thing about Volt is not that the ingredients are local, but that Bryan doesn't waste the just-picked flavor. The dominant theme in a recent September lunch was late summer corn. It first appeared in an amuse bouche of a small cup of smooth Corn Soup with lemon grass, uni and tarragon. The sweet, grassy flavor of corn was perfectly balance with the acid of lemon and the creaminess, salty flavor of sea urchin. Several courses later the corn reappeared in a Yellow Corn Ravioli with chanterelle mushrooms, corn nuts, and baby corn, which explored not only the full range of corn flavors with added smoky morels, but also texture - foam to cream to crunch. It is a stunning homage to a native grain. Bryan said he will introduce a autumn variation with winter squash taking the place of corn. A Tasting of Tuscarora Farms Beets with balsamic, goat cheese and garden tarragon, was far from the usual slices of multi-colored beets. It played on textures, and the intense taste of micro greens. A Heirloom Tomato Salad included not only sticks of dehydrated tomato straight out of the molecular gastronomy playbook, but also contrasting tomato sorbet. Both made sense in the salad, and both helped capture the savory flavor of late summer tomatoes. Tomatoes appear at the end up the meal in a berry dessert composition that featured tiny garden huckleberries, which Bryan explained, were actually a kind sweet tomato no bigger than a small sweet pea. They pop in the mouth like wild blueberries, but do have a faint tomato-y taste that gives the sorbet and berries not only an intellectual connection with the beginning of the meal, but an actual one. With autumn's peak foliage approaching Maryland, there is no need for an excuse to eat at Volt. Just go and smile at the fact that anyone who stays in New York or Washington DC may be missing it all. Nothing ventured, nothing gained: go visit Volt. Previous articles: Charlie Palmer Ties as Washington No. 1 Steak House Charlie Palmer: Bipartisan Turf Surf the Hill Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef