While most good restaurants are proud to boast one stellar chef, Flyte takes its pride from the fact that it has three, all working together to make your visit to the popular eatery a stellar experience.
Chef Ashley Quick
Quick is the new kid on the block for Flyte. The Charlotte native grew up cooking with his grandparents and he knows his way around a farm from those days too (yet another chef in town we can genuinely label a porkavore). He studied at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, apprenticed with the 2000 Culinary Olympic team, and further honed his considerable skills at the legendary London establishment Fat Duck, Clio in Boston and Bouchon in Napa Valley. He came to Nashville with a fellow chef to work at Belle Meade Country Club and spent time at Capitol Grille with Tyler Brown before moving to Flyte. We love him for his devotion to fresh, local food—and we’re glad he’s supporting our great farm community.
Chef Jennifer Franzen
Hailing from upstate New York, Franzen has been with Flyte from the beginning, and her devotion shows when your plate is set in front of you. Largely self-taught, Franzen is the go-to lasagna maker, and celebrates food that originates from her cultural heritage—German and Italian. The daughter of a vegetarian, she’s also admirably devoted to making sure Flyte offers serious, balanced vegetarian and vegan meals for customers that aren’t merely afterthoughts on a meat-centric menu. She too loves it all fresh and local, and wants guests to know that Flyte is all about preparing your meals when you order—nothing’s pre-made and sitting all day, and that’s a rarity. “It makes for a challenging environment,” she says with a smile. She’s up to the challenge.
Pastry Chef Erica Waksmunski
Erica Waksmunshi believes that dessert is the most important course. “It’s important to end the whole meal well,” she says. The Johnson & Wales graduate followed her schooling with an internship at the prestigious Everest restaurant in Chicago, then took a position as assistant pastry chef. Having lived in Nashville prior to her culinary school days, she wanted to come back, and shortly thereafter found herself at Flyte, after, she says, a “strange series of events.” Noted for her ability to make an incredible dessert out of almost anything in season, and for a love of blending sweet with salty or savory tastes, she’s currently having fun with her smoker—making smoked hot chocolate and beignets with smoked flour and sugar, to be precise. We can’t wait to taste them. We know they’ll be exquisite.
Recipes:
Seasonal Soup With Winter Parsnips
From Ashley Quick
1 pound parsnips
2 ribs celery
1 white onion
1 quart heavy cream
1 vanilla bean
sachet of fresh thyme, bay leaf, peppercorns
1/4 pound butter
salt and pepper
Cut the parsnips into pieces and roast in the oven. Sweat the onions and celery in butter, then add the roasted parsnips. Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer until soft. Puree the mixture in the blender, then season with salt and pepper to taste.
Corn Flan and Rice Wine Caramel
From Jennifer Franzen
Rice Wine Vinegar
150 (about 5.2 ounces) grams sugar
35 grams (about 1.25 ounces) rice wine vinegar
Bring sugar to caramel state, deglaze with rice wine vinegar, and immediately pour into bowls.
Corn Flan
12 ounces cooked corn kernels
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large shallot, chopped
1 smoked jalapeno
1 pint corn cream
5 eggs
Butter
Saute the garlic, shallot and corn in a teaspoon of butter, season with salt and black pepper. Puree everything together, strain and pour into cups with caramel set. Cook in a water bath at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes .
Brownies
From Erica Waksmunski
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons of salt (don’t be afraid about being heavy-handed with the salt)
1 pound butter
12 ounces dark chocolate
3 1/2 cups sugar
8 eggs
Whip half the eggs with half the sugar, until light and fluffy.
Melt the butter and chocolate together, then add the remaining eggs and sugar to this mixture. Once blended, fold the melted chocolate mixture into the eggs. Then fold in the dry ingredients. Pour into a 9x9 pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 325 minutes.