By Sharon Salomon

Ah, the glamorous life of a chef. Picture a young man in a blood-spattered white jacket, hunched over the large carcass of a steer, cleaver in hand, ready to dismember the animal. For a chef like Greg LaPrad, however, who is passionate about every aspect of food, this is the life of his dreams.

LaPrad, a graduate of Johnson & Wales, is the young, energetic, curious, stubborn, disciplined, very serious chef who now heads up the kitchen at Quiessence Restaurant and Wine Bar at the Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix. The restaurant, located on a working farm, is reached by driving down a dirt road lined with pecan trees. It is rustic, tranquil and surely one of the most individual restaurants in Arizona both for its location and the culinary philosophy of its chef, a gentle giant of a man dedicated to serving the best that Arizona has to offer.  Chef LaPrad spent his formative years in Massachusetts in an area where farm stands and cornfields were commonplace.  His family had a vegetable garden in the yard, and they made their own wine. LaPrad's mother, at least in his early years, was a stay-at-home-mom who took great pride in preparing multi-course elaborate meals for her family even on weekdays.  Dinnertime at the LaPrad household was never just a tuna sandwich.

LaPrad's kitchen initiation came after his parents' divorce.  His mother spent less time cooking, so he took over. As a teen, LaPrad spent months working on and perfecting his marinara sauce.

After the divorce, LaPrad spent weekends with his father, also a cooking enthusiast. They shopped for food together on Saturday afternoons and spent the weekend cooking, often using ingredients purchased directly from farmers or grown in the LaPrads' own backyard.

Although LaPrad expressed an interest in becoming a chef, his parents had other ideas about his future. He followed their wishes and enrolled at University of North Dakota, majoring in engineering with the intention of becoming an airline pilot.  All the while, LaPrad was reading cookbooks and watching the Food Network, soaking up cooking tips and information from some of the great cooks of our time. He was particularly influenced by the writings of Alice Waters, whose passion for seasonal cuisine made a deep impression on him.  On 9/11, fate intervened and changed his college and career plans. The airline industry was laying off pilots after the tragedy, so Greg jumped at the opportunity to switch careers and follow his dreams. He left North Dakota for Rhode Island to attend Johnson & Wales to become a chef.

After graduating from the culinary program at the top of his class, fate intervened yet again when LaPrad's uncle, an investor in Michael DeMaria's restaurant, Michael's at the Citadel in Scottsdale, arranged an introduction for his nephew.  LaPrad knew that DeMaria was a Slow Food member who shared his interest in local, sustainable cuisine, so the opportunity to meet the chef appealed to him.

LaPrad arrived in Arizona never intending to stay. This was to be a stop on the way in his training. He was eager for the opportunity to learn from Chef DeMaria but expected to move on as many young chefs choose to do to further their education.  From dishwasher to prep cook to lead line cook, LaPrad moved up the ladder quickly at Michael's because of hard work, dedication and skill. Under DeMaria's tutelage, he learned how to run a restaurant kitchen and a business-lessons that would prove invaluable at Quiessence.

LaPrad left Michael's for a short stint at a hotel restaurant in Denali National Park in Alaska over the summer. LaPrad says, "What I learned there prepared me for a leadership role in the kitchen. We were constantly busy and I got a very important introduction to a high-volume kitchen."

When LaPrad returned to Arizona at the end of the summer, he was not sure what he wanted to do. He answered a newspaper ad for a job at Quiessence Restaurant and was surprised that he got the job so easily. Pat Cristofolo, president and CEO of Santa Barbara Catering, the parent company of the restaurant, was impressed with him from their first meeting. "I remember telling my executive chef at the catering company, ‘This guy is something special. He's got it,'" says Cristofolo.

Cristofolo trusted her instincts and hired the young chef to head up the kitchen at Quiessence. She appreciated his desire to add more locally grown ingredients to the menu. It seemed a natural direction for a restaurant with fresh produce grown outside the front door at Maya Dailey's farm.

While at Michael's, LaPrad had become good friends with another chef who shared his passion for using local foods, Tony Andiario. Greg brought Tony in as his chef de cuisine as soon as he could. They immediately set about to overhaul the menu and the kitchen.

Chef LaPrad had a vision shared by Cristofolo and Andiario. But it was challenging at first to get the regular customers to come on board. "At the beginning, there was turbulence," says LaPrad. "We were transforming the menu almost daily. We spent hours debating the direction of the restaurant and the structure of the menu. And we did this all in front of the customers. They didn't understand why they couldn't have tomatoes with a salad in January or why so many of the items on the menu shared similar ingredients.

Slowly the customers became educated to our point of view." Cristofolo was supportive throughout the process, allowing her new chef to run with his vision. "Greg has always surpassed my expectation.

Some chefs have a talent for food, which Greg does. But he also is brilliant in many areas. He's great with numbers, an organizational genius and a thoughtful and compassionate man. His drive to succeed is unmatched. I'm grateful that our paths have crossed," declares Cristofolo.

Soon LaPrad was making a name for himself in the community as someone with a passion for using the freshest locally grown ingredients in unique ways. Farmers who were as dedicated as LaPrad to organics and sustainability started showing up at his door with produce and offers to grow hogs, chickens and steers to his specifications. He now has a network of Arizona farmers producing much of what he needs for the restaurant.

Maya Dailey is still one of his suppliers. "Greg is a gentle and compassionate soul who walks his talk. His consciousness, creativity and local purchasing habits can be experienced at every bite. It's a pleasure to share the farm with him," says Dailey. Those sentiments are echoed by all the farmers who work with LaPrad.

The menu at Quiessence is based on what is seasonal but also available in the quantity and quality that Greg demands.  Although he tries to use almost exclusively local products, he does source from outside of Arizona when necessary. LaPrad's insistence on quality sometimes means not taking shortcuts.  The cooks make their own pasta, kneading by hand.  "I don't care about speed. I care about having the food come out right," he says.

LaPrad and Andiario break down most of the hogs, steers, lamb and chicken that are delivered whole to the restaurant.  They have spent hours learning to cut up a whole animal so as not to waste any of the usable flesh and bones. In fact, LaPrad and his staff have learned to cure their own meat, serving probably the most popular charcuterie plate in town.  "When you cook the way we cook, you feel connected to the food. I have an intimate relationship with the food. When I look at a case of 100 pork tenderloins at the butcher shop, I think ‘Those came from 50 different animals.' I know all about the animals from which our tenderloins come," the chef proudly proclaims.

Terri Nacke, founder of La Bella Terre in Scottsdale, greatly admires Chef LaPrad. "His labor of love is painstaking.  He does everything in-house. He butchers his meat, handcrafts all pastas and creates with the best seasonal ingredients." LaPrad says, "I know Tony and I are developing a reputation for being difficult to work with. We're not really difficult.  We just strive for perfection in everything we do. We are tough taskmasters. We don't take shortcuts. Maybe I'm even a bit anal. Even the walk-in has to look a certain way."

Andiario is a staunch supporter of his boss. "Chef LaPrad is not the first to embrace a local philosophy, but he is a pioneer in his own right. He is committed to following his beliefs and staying strictly within the boundaries he has created for himself. He is an inspiration to me as well as [to] all of his cooks."

Chef Greg LaPrad is a modest, passionate, big bear of a man who puts his heart and soul into the food he serves his guests.  He is inspired by nature and firmly committed to the concept of seasonal and local. He describes himself as "not good at schmoozing," preferring to stay in the kitchen. "I want my food to speak for itself."

Judging by the positive reviews and the filled tables, the future looks bright for Quiessence. The diners finally understand LaPrad's philosophy and are learning to do without tomatoes on their salads in January. They appreciate the freshness of the ingredients and the creativity that the chef brings to his food. And Greg continues to expand the troupe of farmers and purveyors who fill his kitchens with lovingly grown Arizona products.

QUIESSENCE RESTAURANT
The Farm at South Mountain
6106 S. 32nd St., Phoenix
(602)276-0601
quiessencerestaurant.com