Culinary Corner: Executive Head Chef Kenneth O’Keefe, The Publick House, Sturbridge, MA

Posted by Phyllis M. Cahaly

By Phyllis M. Cahaly, CMD, Director of Partnership Marketing, Massachusetts Office of Travel & Tourism

“To me, everybody who comes into a restaurant is there for something special, whether it’s two friends who haven’t seen each other in a while, date night for parents, a birthday or wedding celebration, it’s something special and we make them happy,” exalts Chef Ken O’Keefe, Executive Head Chef at The Publick House in Sturbridge, MA. “I get joy out of making them happy, making them feel that their night was a fun celebration. We work all holidays, and we see that we’ve made their holidays special. We bring joy to their life.”

Meet Chef Ken O’Keefe, who is currently celebrating 10 years of ‘bringing the joy’ to patrons at The Publick House and has loved every minute of it! Born on Long Island, New York, Chef Ken’s family moved to Milford, New Hampshire when he was 12 years old.  He grew up watching PBS, specifically The French Chef with Julia Child. His first job was as a dishwasher at The Colonel Shepard House in Milford, where he got the culinary fever. “I instantly loved the energy, the excitement, the constant action of the kitchen and I worked there all through high school,” says Chef Ken. “I learned about good food from good chefs who taught me different styles and techniques. I remember the first time I made my parents a really nice dinner of Tarragon Chicken with Potato Galette, a Julia Child recipe, and I saw the excitement on their faces! It was good, it brought them joy, and they liked it, that’s what really got me excited!”

After graduation, he attended Johnson & Wales University in Charleston, South Carolina (now moved to Charlotte, North Carolina), and began living a 24/7 culinary life. His circle of friends were all chefs, and they built a strong comradery. They would meet and talk about food, recipes, techniques, and equipment, and then visit the local bookstore to get the newest cookbook and just start cooking.

Chef Ken knows his way around any kitchen and has done it all. Since his dishwashing days, he has learned butchery, and worked as a line cook, sous chef and sushi chef. On his days off, he would work in restaurants for free just to gain additional experience. After Johnson & Wales, Chef Ken stayed in North Carolina until the restaurant scene slowed down. Now married, Chef Ken remembers, “I asked my wife, who is from Ohio, where do you want to move to, we can go anywhere in the country and she said, ‘let’s go to Boston’ and so we did!”.

That was an appealing suggestion to Chef Ken, who has fond memories of his parents and grandparents taking him, his sister and two brothers out to ‘fancy’ Boston restaurants as children. He credits them with instilling a sense of wonder about upscale dining and trying new flavors. “My grandmother really expanded our food tastes and encouraged me to try new things. She always said, ‘how are you going to know if you like it ‘til you try it?”, reflects Chef Ken.

Chef Ken and his wife stayed with family in Beverly, MA and then moved to Salem when he accepted a job at The Hawthorne Hotel in Salem , 22 years ago. Both The Publick House and The Hawthorne Hotel are Historic Hotels of America properties. When the position at The Publick House came up, Chef Ken, who knows a thing or two about the elegance of historic dining, was ready!

“We’ve been open over 200 years, we are a generational restaurant with something for everyone on our menu. If grandparents are bringing their grandchildren, they can both find something on the menu between traditional and newer menu options,” says Chef Ken with pride.

The Publick House was established in 1771, and this historic restaurant offers an extensive menu. Perrenial favorites such as New England Clam Chowder, Publick House Pot Roast or Meatloaf, New England Baked Scrod, or Fish and Chips are at the ready. You may be surprised by some of the more modern selections like Fried Potato & Onion Pierogi, Pan Seared Salmon, Vegetarian Grilled Tofu, or Vegan Bolognese, or Quinoa Bowl.

Nevertheless, let’s get to the ‘meat’ of the menu, and that’s none other than the culinary star of every November, TURKEY, and lots of it! At The Publick House, you don’t have to wait for Thanksgiving to enjoy your fully loaded traditional turkey dinner because that’s their signature dish, served year-round. On any given day, The Publick House will sell 50 to 100 Roasted Turkey Dinners with white and dark meat, gravy, sausage-cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, and whole cranberry sauce. What a feast!

In November, Chef Ken estimates that he will cook more than 700 pounds of turkey, 300 pounds per week of butternut squash, and on Thanksgiving Day alone, will serve more than 400 pounds of mashed potatoes. “We make our Roasted Turkey Dinner old style where stuffing is stuffing made with salted pork, onion, celery, lots of butter and freshly made cornbread from our in-house bakery,” says Chef Ken. No wonder customers start calling The Publick House in January to make a Thanksgiving Day reservation. Although they don’t take reservations until the summer, they will hold each patron’s name and call them back. For this Thanksgiving Day, November 28, The Publick House is still taking reservations for either their 10:30 am or their 7:30 pm seatings. No reservation? No problem! The Publick House has you covered for ‘to go’ dinners as well.

“Our Bake Shoppe has everything you need for Thanksgiving. They will bake over 1,000 Apple Pies Thanksgiving week, and you can order anything from a fully cooked turkey with all the sides to just sliced turkey breast sold by the pound, “says Chef Ken. “You can order one or all of our incredible side dishes like our stuffing, cranberries, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry almond rice, or butternut squash.”

Insert Baked Good picture and please title as Baked Goods at The Bake Shoppe

You can anticipate a guilty pleasure with the many delectables from The Publick House’s 18^th-century bakery, The Bake Shoppe, featuring irresistible pastries, decadent desserts, home-made bread, traditional pies, cakes, jams, relishes, and party foods. The heavenly scent of home-baked goodies greets you at the door like their famous Pecan Sweet Rolls (they will sell over 7,000 during Thanksgiving week), Cannoli’s, Carrot Cake (it’s been the same recipe for the last 70 years) and a dozen pies from which to choose. In the summer, be sure to try their famous Blueberry Pie, on the menu since 1962. It’s only baked for five or six weeks during the summer from when the first blueberry emerges until the last one is picked.

Another piece of The Publick House’s business is its lunch menu and their banquet and wedding markets. With five buildings sprawled over 77 acres, The Publick House offers a variety of venues, from the cozy Historic Tap Room with original fireplace to Ebenezer’s Tavern to banquet rooms and outdoor tents. Not to mention the amazing accommodations of this property, like The Publick House Historic Inn, the Tillyer House, the Chamberlain House, and the County Lodge, all offering unique lodging experiences.

Chef Ken recognizes many return customers as he moves through the dining rooms. Families return frequently during the year, coming back for milestone celebrations like birthdays and promotions. Many married couples return to The Publick House to celebrate their anniversary or the birth of their children. During the holiday season, The Publick House is hugely successful as a gathering place for all kinds of holiday events. Every nook and cranny of the property is decked out in picture-perfect seasonal decorations.

In January, Chef Ken will take a breath to develop his menu for the year and map out his banquet and wedding options. Undoubtedly, he’ll have a few surprises up his sleeve! Like his daily specials and his ‘Classic Weeks’ as a fun twist. “The Publick House has recipes going back to the 1930’s and I just love going through these classic dishes. We like looking back over all the old recipes and pulling out a few for our Classic Weeks,” exclaims Chef Ken. “We prepare different eras each week and spotlight some classics like Chicken Supreme, French Onion Soup, Lobster Pies, Lamb Stew and other dishes that were once popular. We created a Grog’s List of drinks like Old Fashioned, Tom Collins or a Whiskey Sour. It’s a fun project to work on during the winter months and it brings a lot of joy to our customers.”

When asked what’s the most favorite part of his job, Chef Ken stated, “It’s not just one thing, the culinary field in general excites me because it’s always changing, driving you forward, pushing you to be better. New ingredients, recipes, and restaurants keep me eager, and every day is new and different, and I think surrounding restaurants help one another to be better. I love knowing what foods other chefs are playing with and I love cooking all foods. Lately I’ve been on a vegan and vegetarian kick, who knows, maybe next year I’ll be on a beef kick.”

Chef Ken and his wife, also a chef, and their three children are a busy family. Chef Ken knows Massachusetts well and says he has visited almost every region. “We frequent the North Shore beaches, and would like to, visit the Berkshires, explore Pittsfield and Adams and do some sightseeing,” says Chef Ken.

Chef Ken loves a wide variety of food with pizza being his comfort go-to food. His sweet tooth kicks in around 10:00 pm but he doesn’t have to go far to find something chocolatey from The Bake Shoppe. He and his dedicated staff of 35 will work 50 to 60 hours during the holiday season, including Christmas Day, and when he arrives home, late, tired and fulfilled with serving his loyal patrons, Chef Ken is greeted with a home cooked meal of Rack of Lamb with Au Gratin Potatoes, “I love having people cook for me and it really makes my year to come home to that wonderful meal, it’s really something that I will remember. Those are the meals that really bring me joy,” says Chef Ken.

It’s all about the joy.

Happy Holidays, Chef Ken, and thanks for all you do!

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Recipes of the Month: The Publick House Stuffing and other side dishes

Courtesy of Chef Ken O’Keefe, The Publick House, Sturbridge, MA

View a PDF of this recipe

The Stuffing

• 1 medium onion small dice
• 6 stalks celery small dice
• 1 lb. crumbled fennel sausage
• ¼ lb. Ground Salt pork (or small chop, no skin)
• ¼ butter
• 3 tbls of poultry seasoning
• 1 8×8 fresh cornbread crumbled
• 1 loaf of your favorite bread diced
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Slowly sweat on medium low heat the onions, celery, sausage, salt pork, butter, and poultry seasoning for about 45 minutes to an hour until onions and salt pork are translucent. When complete, and while over medium low heat stir in cornbread and diced bread until hot. And serve. You can make the stuffing base a few days ahead of time and heat then add breads the day needed.

 

Turkey Gravy

• ½ gallon of rich turkey stock and any pan dripping from roasted turkey
• ¼ butter
• ½ cup AP flour
• Kitchen Bouquet for color
• Salt and pepper

In a 1 gall sauce pot on medium low heat melt butter, once melted stir in flour mixture should look like wet sand. Cook for 5 minutes do not burn, then whisk in turkey stock let thicken, for 20 to thirty minutes. If to thick add some more stock of water, to thin just let reduce longer. Add kitchen Bouquet to achieve the color you prefer. This can also be made a few days in advance.

 

Mashed Potatoes

• 5 lbs. Yukon Gold peeled or unpeeled
• ½ lbs. butter
• 2-3 cups of heavy cream
• Salt and pepper

Yukon’s have a thinner skin so peeling isn’t necessary the skin will also add a little more flavor. Boil potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover by a few inches until soft. Drain and add butter, salt and pepper while mashing then add cream until enough to make it creamy (not to loose and not to stiff just Goldie locks style). Add more salt and pepper if needed.

 

Butternut Squash Puree

• 5 lbs. of peeled butternut squash
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg
• ½ lbs. butter
• Salt and pepper

In a pot boil butter squash until soft, then drain thoroughly. Then mash with the rest of ingredients together and serve

TOPICS: Culinary Corner, Sturbridge