New chef de cuisine brings her personal experience to an inclusive menu
Gianna Smutzki, the newly named chef de cuisine of Patterson Kitchen + Bar, loves meat, which makes sense for a fine-dining chef raised in meat- and dairy-loving Michigan. What makes less sense is that three years ago, the meat she loved—primarily pork in Cuban dishes she enjoyed while living in South Florida—began making her sick. Now, she has to avoid all red and white meat, and her diet classifies as vegetarian, with an occasional seafood reprieve.
“I love to braise meat,” she says. “It’s more of just a comfort smell because my grandmother used to braise a lot of meat. It reminds me of home.”
Her recent move from executive chef at Rick Erwin’s West End Grille to the Patterson restaurant at Hotel Hartness reflects a new beginning for the 31-year-old chef. After her first visit to the Hartness in-progress restaurant and the extensive on-site farm, she was sold.
“I knew this was going to be more of what I was looking for, something I connected to more,” Smutzki says.
The first menu for the forthcoming restaurant is a collaboration between Smutzki and Hartness Executive Chef Tanner Marino. It features fresh, local produce sourced from the Hartness farm and additional local farms, and includes a weekly chef’s vegan special. As Marino has done with the first Hartness restaurant, Village Kitchen, Smutzki will keep the Patterson menu accessible to those with dietary restrictions and allergies, but at an elevated level, with her own limitations as a reference.
When she first went meat-free, the learning curve was steep, Smutzki says. But after the initial mourning period, she went into research mode, reading as many cookbooks as she could for ideas and then finding the proper substitutes for her cravings.
“Once I really committed, I started looking into it,” she says. “If I was craving red meat, I’d use a lot of walnuts and lentils.”
If she wanted a steak, she learned the texture and flavor of a portobello mushroom would satisfy.
As a chef in various country club restaurants in South Florida, she was accustomed to making dietary accommodations for guests, regardless of the menu. Her new dietary challenges gave her a perspective that would lead to broader variety on the menus, including many more composed, vegetable-forward dishes on traditionally meat-centric restaurant menus.
Smutzki says that after almost two years in the Upstate, Greenville feels a lot more like home than South Florida did. But her time spent in a tropical climate and eating islander cuisine definitely influences how she approaches her menus and her motivation for introducing her guests to new flavors.
With plenty of experience now incorporating more vegetarian- and vegan-friendly dishes into the menus of meat-centric dining venues, she’s looking forward to even more variety at Patterson. But one thing will always remain, regardless of the proteins and produce used in a dish: “I always keep comfort.”
Recipe from Patterson Kitchen + Bar Chef Gianna Smutzki
Easy Gnocchi with Butternut Squash Recipe
1-2 servings (multiply as needed for larger groups)
Ingredients
- 1 cup gnocchi (Giovanni Rana Skillet Gnocchi is what I use at home)
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- ½ cup spinach\
- ¼ cup cherry tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp Butternut Squash Puree (see recipe below)
Instructions
- Sear gnocchi until golden brown.
- Over low heat, add garlic, and cook until translucent. Add and saute spinach and tomatoes. Add butternut squash puree. Finish with salt and pepper to taste.
- Optional: Grate parmesan cheese on top of hot, plated dish.
Butternut Squash Puree Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large butternut squash
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, diced
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Slice the butternut squash in half lengthwise; scoop out and discard the seeds. Place the halves flesh-side-up on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Sprinkle the diced butter and brown sugar evenly on both halves.
- Roast for 45–60 minutes or until the butternut squash can easily be pierced with a knife.
- A liquid mixture of butter and brown sugar will form in the wells of the squash; make sure you include this deliciousness with the puree.
- Remove squash from the oven; allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Scoop out the flesh and liquid and place into your food processor or blender.
- Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; pulse until you reach a creamy consistency.
Patterson Kitchen + Bar is expected to open March 2023. For information and announcements, visit hotelhartness.com/dine.
Photography by Jack Robert Photography.
