Q & A with Chef Gabriel Rucker

Chef Gabriel Rucker of Le Pigeon sat down with foodspring.com writer Vanessa L. Facenda for an exclusive interview posted below. Find out more about Chef Rucker or try some of his recipes here: Featured Chef: Gabriel Rucker.

The tattoos on your arm are of pigeons, the same as the name of the restaurant. What is the significance of the pigeon?

In France, the “pigeon” is the person who has to do all of the dirty jobs—peel the garlic, clean and shuck the mussels. I still do all of that—we all do—no one is too good for any job.

What is your food philosophy?

I like to layer the same ingredients many times in one dish. For example, the roast squab with a frisée and duck confit salad and duck liver vinaigrette. I enjoy finding the right balance between salt, fat and acids in foods.

There is a lot of fowl, game and offal on the menu. Is offal popular around the U.S? Or are Portlanders more open to exotic or different foods than other cities?

Offal is a popular trend around the country, although it may not be found on too many menus in the Midwest—yet. Sweetbreads are also very popular all over the U.S. There’s been a huge food revolution thanks to the Food Network and chefs like Anthony Bourdain (who wrote Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly and has the program No Reservations that showcases foods from around the world). People are watching different food shows and are looking to be more adventurous with the foods they eat, which works out well for those of us who own restaurants.

Do you primarily use locally sourced ingredients?

Yes—as much as I can. I sometimes bring in items from California, but that’s still local for the most part. In Portland, many people even consider fish from Alaska local. It’s a different mentality.

Your menu shifts pretty frequently. How often do you change it?

Pretty much whenever I feel like it. It really depends on the ingredients I come across.

What are your favorite ingredients with which to work?

Foie gras and tongue are definitely two of my favorites to use.

What is the one food everyone should try in their lifetime?

Foie gras.

—Vanessa L. Facenda

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