MICHAEL BERGIN, Fat Hen
To Bergin, every flavor is a culmination of culinary history. At Fat Hen, his intimate 30-seat eatery slated to open in early spring in the Somerville space that previously housed La Brasa’s market, this alum of New York’s A Voce and Del Posto plans to honor Italian traditions and techniques with a menu of housemade pastas and tender braised meats. Fittingly, his favorite cooking tool is an 8-inch cast-iron pan, a decades-old gift from his father-in-law. He’s used this pan to test Fat Hen recipes—say, rendering rabbit sausage used for a dish of cavatelli pasta with Calabrian chili. And each use adds another layer of complexity to the flavors this well-seasoned pan imbues. In all his years of ownership, Bergin has never washed it with anything but kosher salt and olive oil, to prevent rusting. (Though a well-intentioned dinner-party guest did once take to it with soap and water, a move that may have led to a “No wire hangers!”-style breakdown, Bergin admits with a laugh.) Says the chef, “The pan, and how I relate to it, has a history—and the love and care I have for that translates into my food.”
Tools of the Trade
By Scott Kearnan | Photo Credit: Nicole Popma | Feb. 12, 2016
MICHAEL BERGIN, Fat Hen
To Bergin, every flavor is a culmination of culinary history. At Fat Hen, his intimate 30-seat eatery slated to open in early spring in the Somerville space that previously housed La Brasa’s market, this alum of New York’s A Voce and Del Posto plans to honor Italian traditions and techniques with a menu of housemade pastas and tender braised meats. Fittingly, his favorite cooking tool is an 8-inch cast-iron pan, a decades-old gift from his father-in-law. He’s used this pan to test Fat Hen recipes—say, rendering rabbit sausage used for a dish of cavatelli pasta with Calabrian chili. And each use adds another layer of complexity to the flavors this well-seasoned pan imbues. In all his years of ownership, Bergin has never washed it with anything but kosher salt and olive oil, to prevent rusting. (Though a well-intentioned dinner-party guest did once take to it with soap and water, a move that may have led to a “No wire hangers!”-style breakdown, Bergin admits with a laugh.) Says the chef, “The pan, and how I relate to it, has a history—and the love and care I have for that translates into my food.”
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