Picture: Civilian Portland
Vitaly Paley is the superstar of the burgeoning Pacific North West culinary scene. The farm to table food that this Russian émigré and ex concert pianist serves alongside his wife Kimberly at Paley’s Place, situated in an old Victorian house in one of the city’s prettiest neighbourhoods, is unique, inspiring and delicious. For many, Paley’s Place is the best restaurant in Portland, Oregon by far. Vitaly has a growing following across the globe, most notably in Fergus Henderson, who has made the trip across the Atlantic, and across the States, several times to share his kitchen.
There are so many things to love about Paley’s cooking, but if we had to choose just one thing, it’s his bacon. It’s impossible to overstate quite how much we love it. It’s full of flavour, home-smoked, with a dense, crisp texture. It’s the star ingredient of every plate it features on. Along with Stumptown Coffee and the garlic and black pepper saucisson at Olympic Provisions, it’s one of the standout flavours of contemporary PDX.
In late summer 2012 – shortly before Feast, the inaugural Portland Food and Drink Festival – Paley opened Imperial by Vitaly Paley at the historic Hotel Lucia. The restaurant sees Paley cooking in a new style, one that has involved in-depth research into the history of the Pacific North West. Imperial is one of the most exciting new restaurants in the US, not least because of pastry chef Michelle Vernier’s lemon poppy seed meringue pie, which matches the Paley’s Place bacon for wow factor. We caught up with Vitaly at Feast, where his truffled crab melt – a “high comfort” twist on the classic tuna melt – was the talk of the closing gala.
Civilian: We bumped into Fergus earlier, have you seen much of him during the festival?
Vitaly Paley: Yes, he’s been staying next door to us at Imperial. Kimberly has been trying to find him some more bottles of Fernet Branca. I think he’s drunk the city dry of it.
So, Paley’s Place has been everyone’s favourite restaurant in Portland for years, and you’re very hands on with it. Why expand?
If you read Irma S. Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking, there are recipes for cooking bears and possums. It’s a part of American history
I wasn’t purposely looking to open up anything new. I was invited to do it. I looked to the space and its location and the history of the area. I wanted to really understand the historic significance of the Pacific North West dining scene. Who came here? Who influenced things? What was here before us? I came up with the idea of a historic approach. I spent time at the local Historical Society and looked at the 1930s and 1940s. You have to look to your past to understand where you’re going.
So are you essentially cooking from old recipes?
We didn’t go after a totally authentic version. The American modern palate is different from what it used to be: we now expect things tender and moist. We would never eat squirrel, raccoon or swan, as we used to. But if you read Irma S. Rombauer’s The Joy of Cooking, there are recipes for cooking bears and possums. It’s a part of American history.
So in terms of being playful with history, are you doing something similar to what Heston Blumenthal has been doing at Dinner in London?
Picture: Imperial by Vitaly Paley
I guess all of us are connected and want to do the same thing at the same time. Is it a trend? I don’t know. But there’s something to be said for looking back in history.
What were the most interesting things you came across in your research?
Back in the olden days, because of the lack of refrigeration, there was a lot of pickling going on: tongue, pigskin and ears. Then there was also a lot of cooking using an oven plank. We are using wood that has been soaked in red wine as a vehicle to cook a small little section of pig belly and the result is amazing. When you cook on it, it brings out the flavour of the red wine. We cook a lot with a wood fire, which is something you have to do if you are cooking historically. James Beard described it as the most primal and understandable way of cooking.
Is this part of a “back to basics” movement?
Food is about emotion, mood and memory. If we can evoke any one of those three then I’ve done my job well. Is it a movement? I don’t know. Quality will never go out of style. I think some of us are looking deeper into what it means to cook in a North West way. Paley’s Place has been a personal expression of that, and this is a historic expression of that.
We are using wood that has been soaked in red wine as a vehicle to cook a small little section of pig belly and the result is amazing
How would you describe Portland cooking?
Oregon is such a new place that even though it has history, there are no established traditions. We get to use our own experiences here. That’s why it’s exciting. The pioneer spirit is alive and well here in Oregon. People go for broke – no one tells you that you can’t do it. There’s not a staunch tradition.
What ingredients will we always find you using?
Game; local fish; a good selection of oysters; salmon and some kind of mushroom.
We need to talk about your bacon. Whenever we know it’s in a dish at Paley’s Place we have to order that dish. The flavour is incredible. What’s the story?
It has to start with the ingredient itself. It has to be special. The pigs we are getting are from Tails and Trotters, a local place. The pigs are finished in a Spanish style, by eating hazelnuts, but the farming is in a more traditional North West way. They are raised to be a certain, optimum size and the fat is very developed. Then it’s simple – we cure it and we smoke it. And that’s it. But you must have that initial well-raised animal or it won’t be the same.
We’ve drunk a lot of great wine at the Feast festival from the Pacific North West. What wine do you drink at home?
When we came to Oregon, it was particularly nice to be next to the wine region. There’s a great synergy with what we do with our cooking. A lot of winemakers come to us to show us what they’re making. There’s been so much happening over the last three years. Patricia Green’s wines are great. I particularly like Pinot Noir, and I particularly love Matello.
With the Portland Penny Diner, you now have three restaurants in Portland. If we’re not eating at one of your restaurants, where should we go to eat?
I am really big on ethnic type foods. I go to Autentica, which is Mexican. I go to Yama for sushi. I go to Bamboo Sushi. I like Indian: East India Company and Vindalho down on the east side. I wish there was better Asian food in Portland though. I eat from the sandwich carts.
North America does brunch better than any other country in the world. Any recommendations?
I’m not big on brunch. Working in restaurants, you have breakfast at 4am. C