Chefs spice dining scene

NEW TASTES: The Hyatt Regency recently announced Lyle Morse has become its executive chef. / COURTESY HYATT REGENCY NEWPORT HOTEL & SPA
NEW TASTES: The Hyatt Regency recently announced Lyle Morse has become its executive chef. / COURTESY HYATT REGENCY NEWPORT HOTEL & SPA

The newly appointed director of the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, Scott Jensen, paid a visit recently to my Newport radio station with the outgoing executive director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, Jody Sullivan. One of the first things the new executive told me was how impressed he was with restaurants he had dined at on Federal Hill, including The Old Canteen and Andino’s.

Recently relocated from a major East Coast city, Jensen enthused, “You know, the rest of the country thinks Rhode Island is a great place!” It is true. That number includes chefs from other cities who are especially enthusiastic about coming here to cook.

Chef Evan Mallett, owner of Black Trumpet Bistro in Portsmouth, N.H., is a three-time semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast. He has made two guest chef appearance at Gracie’s in Providence and is planning a third for sometime this fall.

An active chef in the local food movement, Mallett is a steward of his surroundings, right down to the Black Trumpet’s space in Portsmouth, located in a historic building in the city’s downtown restaurant row.

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A note about Portsmouth. A Boston restaurant reviewer recently praised the New Hampshire seacoast city for its emerging culinary scene. In addition to Mallett’s vying for James Beard awards, Portsmouth and its neighboring city, Dover, have been the home of no fewer than three James Beard semifinalists, which in at least one of those years outpaced Boston itself. One Hub restaurateur noticed he was losing employees who moved north, drawn by a lower cost of living. The Boston restaurant owner decided if he couldn’t beat them, he would join them and is expanding into Portsmouth, which is being referred to by some food writers as “the next Portland.”

The economic impact of a vibrant restaurant scene is not lost on business leaders in either one of those cities, making for a more competitive food and dining scene throughout New England.

It is a cautionary tale, one that the restaurant industry in Rhode Island and Providence may want to keep in mind. Boston was in somewhat of a slump when it came time for national chef awards a couple of years ago. Then with some younger, emerging chefs such as Tiffani Faison and national exposure during the past season of the reality TV show “Top Chef,” the tide appears to be turning. By comparison, Providence had no finalists for James Beard awards this year.

Providence has never even had its own state to itself, where an exciting dining scene is concerned. Newport has long boasted noteworthy restaurants and outstanding chefs. The City by the Sea was at the forefront of the farm-to-table and sea-to-table movements. Now it is making headlines with new chef appointments.

The Hyatt Regency Newport Hotel & Spa has announced the appointment of Lyle Morse as executive chef. Morse is a Rhode Island local and a graduate of Johnson & Wales University College of Culinary Arts. Morse has been cooking professionally since 1982. His chef’s journey took him away from the state and he followed a circuitous route back. An internship brought him to Bournemouth, England, with the chance to further his art as a chef.

He returned to Aquidneck Island in 1993 and was the executive chef at the Hotel Viking for almost a decade. Morse and his wife, Cindy, owned their own restaurant in Portsmouth for a few years. In fact, Cindy developed her own local reputation as a chef. Morse has had a wide range of experience over the years. Since returning to Newport County, he has worked primarily in boutique Newport restaurants and hotels. He started his own hospitality food-service company and operated it in a local hotel for the past six years. The tale of these two chefs is by no means where the story ends. As we go to press, there are announcements pending about new chef appointments and guest-chef appearances. Gracie’s has just announced the return of Napa Valley vineyard chef Maria Helm Sinskey to appear on a night in June. •
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” talk radio show is heard on 920 WHJJ-AM, 1540 WADK-AM and on mobile applications. He can be reached by email at bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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