Star chef Lyons making his mark at XO

XO CAFE Executive Chef Marty Lyons started his cooking career with his mother when he was 16 and it has taken an upward trajectory ever since then. / COURTESY CHOW FUN FOOD GROUP
XO CAFE Executive Chef Marty Lyons started his cooking career with his mother when he was 16 and it has taken an upward trajectory ever since then. / COURTESY CHOW FUN FOOD GROUP

“Marty [Lyons] is a rising star in the Providence culinary sky,” said John Elkhay, the self-described maestro of the Chow Fun Food Group. For someone like Elkhay to offer such effusive praise might put a bit of pressure on a new chef. But as Lyons, XO Café’s new executive chef, and I sat at the intimate restaurant on North Main Street, it was certainly not evident. As we chatted amidst the early week preparations that must take place at any dinner restaurant, he was the picture of calm.
Lyons is from a small town in upstate New York called Whitehall, which is located on the Vermont border. These days, that region is enjoying a culinary awakening, but the chef recalled simpler times.
My first cooking job was working a church brunch when I was 16 with my mom,” he said with a chuckle. “It was a small, small town. Then a woman whose family lived across the road from my grandparents opened a café in town. She called my house and asked if I would like to cook for her. That was fourteen years ago, and it’s the only thing I have done [for a living] since.”
The road from Whitehall to XO Café was not a direct one. Lyons came to Providence as a sous chef at L’Epicurio, the former restaurant in the Hotel Providence, where he supervised the kitchen and bake shop. He holds degrees in food and beverage management and service management from Johnson & Wales University. Lyons then worked as a sous chef for Derek Wagner at Nick’s on Broadway before taking over the kitchen at Loie Fuller, the West End restaurant with the semi-cultish following. As has been written about in the past, Loie Fuller is the “restaurant-without-a-sign” that had added to its well-deserved, cutting-edge reputation. “There’s a small sign hanging outside!” said the chef in defense of his former employer. XO, of course, has a large sign outside and an even larger reputation, so much so that when Elkhay briefly changed its name and approach a few years ago, patrons still referred to it as XO.
Where does Lyons fit into this restaurant and what plans does he have to put his personal touches on XO? “We’re making some changes to the menu to make the focus more farm-to-table driven. We will get as many ingredients as possible from local growers and keep the menu fresh. We may change the menu weekly if need be! This is where food is going today,” he said.“It’s beyond organic. That was big in the ’90’s. Now it’s about knowing the source, knowing the grower.”
The young chef is passionate about sharing his approach and knowledge. The previous weekend he conducted a cooking class to showcase some of his new dishes. The XO menu now includes such dishes as Seared Bomster Scallops from the famous scalloping family out of Stonington Borough, Conn. Lyons does them with pork belly, Brussels sprouts, crispy quinoa, and carrot-ginger puree. He showed his class some techniques such as how to roast beets for salad.
“My dishes may be a little extensive for the home cook,” he said. “I wanted to make my techniques more accessible.” As those who watch the Food Network will agree, this is valuable knowledge. “Take those roasted beets,” the chef continued. “We slice them, add some Feta cheese from Narragansett Creamery that I bruleed to add some sweetness and saltiness. Next comes some roasted walnuts and we toss it all in an apple vinaigrette made from local apples and cider. Everything in the dish except the walnuts is local!” As class continued, so did the local connection, as Lyons adapted a dish from his fall menu that is built around grilled pork tenderloin. He substituted tenderloin of chicken from Baffoni Farms and taught how to prepare it with root vegetable hash of local parsnips, turnips and golden beets and braised red cabbage – “picked now when it’s cold, the sugars are much nicer” – and spiced cider reduction. Lyons calls it a “hard-core fall dish.” Two of the couples attending the cooking class paid the chef high tribute. Before class concluded, they booked dinner reservations for the following Friday night. They did not want to run home and put their knowledge into practice in their own kitchens, but wanted to see the professor at work. Lyons acknowledged their praise. “That was really nice. These are some regular customers of XO who heard about the class when they were in for an anniversary dinner.”
The young chef is settling in to the culture of the Chow Fun Food Group. “It’s not corporate, it’s more like a family. We have chefs who work at other concepts, such as Rick’s Roadhouse, who want to get into fine dining and I’m putting them to work in my kitchen.”
Lyons has already made his mark on XO. He is enthusiastic about his staff at the front of the house as well. “The staff here is really behind the new dishes. I let them try everything and they just sell their favorites!”
Said Elkhay of his new chef, “We are looking forward to watching Marty shine at XO.” •


Bruce Newbury’s food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays locally on WPRV-AM 790, on radio throughout New England and on the TuneIn and iHeartRadio mobile applications. He can be reached at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

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