Earlier this year, Chef Rodney Wages relaunched his San Francisco Michelin-starred restaurant, Avery, in Scotland’s capital. The new Edinburgh restaurant, located in popular Stockbridge, has been a big bit hit – we’ve visited (read our review here) and it’s clear to see and taste why! Read on to learn more about the American Chef who is revelling in Scotland’s larder.
When / how did your love of cooking come about, and did you always want to be a Chef?
I was about 14 or 15 years old when I took my first job in the kitchen. I was only a dishwasher/busboy, but I would watch the chefs on the line cooking. I was amazed with the process and the teamwork that it took to make everything happen. I started working on the line as soon as they would let me. After working in the kitchen for a few years I decided to go to culinary school after watching a late-night infomercial with my Dad about a culinary school in Minnesota. I was just 17 when I started at culinary school and the friends I made there helped me get to where I am today. So, the short answer is I didn’t always know I wanted to cook but found it at a very young age and my love for cooking came from learning from other chefs and pushing myself to be better.
Prior to opening Avery, you perfected your craft at some of America’s finest restaurants, including The French Laundry, Benu, Saison and Atelier Crenn. What has been your greatest learning from your experiences at these establishments?
Each one of the kitchens listed above have one thing in common for me: “the drive to be better than yesterday no matter how good today was”. I found that I was drawn to that mentality. Being surrounded by these chefs taught me how to be an artist of my own.
Edinburgh is The Luxury Editor’s HQ, so we know what a great city it is, but please tell us what attracted you to set up in Edinburgh and in particular Stockbridge?
After my wife and I got married we started planning our next move as a family (before baby Esmé). We couldn’t decide on a city in America that we both enjoyed enough to move there, so I said what about the UK? That summer we set out on a road trip that started in London and we worked our way up to Scotland. It is a similar story to Goldilocks trying to find the perfect porridge to be honest….
Edinburgh was just right. Great schools, closer to family, safe to raise a family, booming food scene, amazing food product, close to the sea and beaches, outstanding beauty and easy access to European and international travel.
When we got to Scotland’s border you could see a wall of rain as we drove closer. I just remember laughing and saying, “Scotland here we come!” We ended up spending all the trip in Edinburgh and just falling in love with the city. The history, architecture, art, the friendliness of the Scots, and the food scene was exactly what we were looking for. Once we got back to San Francisco I made a joke about going back to Edinburgh for Christmas and before we finished dinner we had booked flights to come back. Fast forward two years now we are here.
In my career I have always known about the quality of Scottish products like langoustines and wild game, but as I was researching and working with other chefs in Scotland I realised that Scotland has so much to offer. It reignited my excitement for learning how to cook all over again!
Please describe a typical day for you – if such a thing exists!
After the early morning activities with the family, I head into work around 11 am or 12pm. And work through operational admin, and sometimes early afternoon there is a treat such as a winemaker coming to town to show their wine or just tasting wine to pair with new dishes. I try to make sure I get an apron on and a knife in my hand by 3pm to make sure we are ready for service. Currently there are only two kitchen staff, including me. As we are getting ready for the first guests to arrive we have a quick team meeting so everyone knows the menu and guests joining us. We wrap up service around 11pm.
When we dined with you, we experienced the Summer Tasting menu, which was exquisite! Please talk us through the journey of crafting this type of menu; your inspiration for each course, sourcing ingredients, perfecting the flavour combinations, its presentation….
The menu philosophy will be similar to our menu in San Francisco – taking inspiration from the sea and the wild with a focus on Japanese and Asian techniques. We are finding that the Scottish larder is filled with amazing products from the sea, land and air.
Throughout my career I have picked up a few cooking techniques that we use in the kitchen but the biggest impact to our cooking is the mindset of using the best ingredients at that moment and consistent evolution.
At Avery our style is unique and true to the art of our craft. I try to create a memorable impact in every dish. We don’t call it the summer menu because it is evolving with the Scottish season.
Which three words best describe your cooking style?
Warming, soulful, elegant
Your dishes are not just mouth-wateringly delectable, but they are so beautifully presented, how much of your time is spent designing the presentation and does this artistic flair come naturally to you?
I think it comes from years of putting things on the plate. Anyone can put food on a plate but to make it exciting you need layers. In a way it’s like making a painting. Each colour has the right time to shine or to be applied to the art. The presentation design starts when we are creating the dish.
Many of the dishes are served on plate-ware that you’ve sourced yourself from antique shops or independent shops on your travels – tell us more….
I think bringing in different plateware adds a unique element to the experience. I also like letting the plate inspire a dish or having a funny story on how I found a plate. A hand-carved wooden spoon, or a blown Venetian glass or plate can really enhance the experience and also encompasses the Avery identity of ‘living and eating in art’.
Please tell our readers what they can expect from the Avery dining experience?
Dining at Avery should feel like you are at your eccentric uncle’s house for the weekend, not worrying about getting food on the linen, spilling your wine, or drinking too much. I want everyone to feel carefree and relaxed. We will bring the elevated service and experience, and the food to match but I don’t want it to be a stuffy experience. I want everyone to have fun, experience new flavours and have a dining experience to remember, it’s as simple as that.
Image Credit: Murray Orr
You’ve kept a couple of your signature dishes from San Francisco on the Edinburgh restaurant menu but how have you adapted the menu to suit your new audience and how much do you think their demands / expectations differ?
I don’t want to think of it as changing our experience to meet expectations but looking at it as an opportunity for evolution. When someone comes to Avery I want guests to have an open mind and have a chance to find something new that they like. The team and I made a dish that we call “Haggis” using all the flavours you would have in the traditional Scottish dish but using wood pigeon as the base. We did this to bring our twist on a Scottish classic, after I tried the real thing with a family friend.
Is there a Scottish ingredient that you’ve not yet used but eager to work into one of your menus?
I am looking forward to the Glorious Twelfth. Last year we didn’t have a chance to use grouse. I have loved all the wild game we worked with last year and look forward to exploring it more.
The restaurant’s (and your dog’s!) namesake is artist Milton Avery, what is it about this artist that captured you and if / how his work influence your own?
Milton Avery was looked at as too radical or abstract for his time. Then, once abstract expressionism came into the art world his work was too representational. So in a way he was the godfather or the underdog of this style, and at the time of choosing the name I was doing pop-ups in San Francisco called “The Underdog”. We knew art was going to be loud in the restaurant, with huge paintings and hand-crafted cutlery and glasses, so we adopted ‘living and eating in art’ and Avery came to life. That is still the essence of Avery, even with us moving to Scotland. I look at it as just changing our colour palette.
The independent restaurant scene in Edinburgh is thriving and of exceptionally high standards, what is Avery’s point of differentiation?
I think outside of the box most of the time and feel like our food is a different expression of Scotland, whilst still using wonderful ingredients.
Luxury is highly subjective – what does it mean to you?
Luxury to me is the way the things around you make you feel. Luxury isn’t always “expensive stuff”, it’s a feeling that you get when surrounded with what you think has value. At Avery, luxury comes from the team guiding you, the art and the story of the people who made it. We do add truffles and caviar now and again to the menu too, just for added measure.
Finally, what is your life motto?
Sleep Faster: There is a motivational speech that Arnold Schwarzenegger gave and he said “We have 24 hours and we only sleep for 6 hours, so 18 hours are remaining. Yeah sure, some people say they sleep 8 hours. For them I have only one message: Sleep faster.”
