In The Kitchen

Meet Local 121's Executive Chef Tyler Demora

A culinary education decades in the making

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For Executive Chef Tyler Demora of Local 121, food has always been connected to family. Even from a young age, while learning how to cook with his father and having his French grandparents cook the classics, no kitchen duty was too hard. This mentality propelled him through the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. In fact, Tyler also worked at a two-Michelin-star restaurant because school wasn’t pushing him hard enough. After all his hard work, he now cooks in Providence and brings his life experiences with him.

When did you first become interested in cooking?
I have always been a big eater and have been cooking since I was about seven. The first recipe I learned how to make was peanut butter cookies. My parents would allow me to make them every Friday night – it was my weekend treat. I remember that I liked preparing them, but didn’t really realize or understand what I was doing. I just wanted to eat them.

How would you describe your cooking style?
I just stay true to my technique and the given ingredients. I am classically trained but I don’t always carry that with me – sometimes the least mature way of doing something is the best. I’m still looking for my “style.” It might take years, maybe 50, until I find it, and even then I’m going to try something new. But I can say I love French food and cooking. My favorite chef is of course Marco Pierre White. Who else? So whatever he does, that’s my style.

What were some early lessons you learned in cooking that you have carried with you?
Taste everything, re-season and re-fresh. Work clean, work efficient and be determined. Stay humble.

Are there any regional cuisines from which you get inspiration?
I love French food, but the subtle flavors in Japanese cooking are unworldly. Indian cooking is amazing to me as well with a lot of complex flavors and cooking styles – it’s the complete opposite. Burmese food is just a mix of everything and that is always fun to cook.

How has the menu changed since you’ve taken over the Local 121 kitchen?
I simplified the menu, cut a lot of the dishes out and made the menu smaller. I started changing the menu every day as opposed to seasonally. To call ourselves Local 121, we need to use the bounty of great New England produce, meat and fish while they are available for short terms. To keep a menu with just the seasonal change, well I would hope every restaurant is doing that, how would that set us apart? I want new dishes every week. My kitchen appreciates this. Everyone respects the ingredients on a new level and diners are eating what’s been picked the day of.

Tell me about some of the seasonal ingredients you use.
I only use pork when its at its peak, lamb when its eating spring grass and flowers, and fish when it’s along our coast.

Is there one particular food item you just love?
I fell in love with foie gras the first time I tried it. There’s nothing like properly prepared foie gras. It’s an extremely versatile ingredient. After visiting the Hudson Valley Foie Gras farm and seeing “just how bad the ducks are treated,” I knew I was always going to have foie gras on my menu. The birds are the happiest birds in the world. They walk anywhere they want to go and are not getting treated inhumanly. They run up to their feeder begging for food! Every bird has the same person who feeds it – like a mother feeds her baby. The feeder gives the bird a little kiss and feeds the bird a ton of grains. The product of Hudson Valley Foie Gras is exceptional.

Could you choose a favorite dish on the menu?
My favorite dish right now is a Cured Foie Gras Torchon, with a salade gourmande of asparagus, snap peas, spring onions, romaine and truffle vinaigrette.

What is your version of comfort food?
I have a weird obsession with not so good (crappy) bar food. I don’t know why. Buffalo Wings, nachos, jalapeño poppers... the whole nine yards. But Korean BBQ is without a match. The morning after is painful, but I don’t care. It’s just so good. Bring on the spice!

Local 121
121 Washington Street
274-2121

Local 121, executive chef, tyler demora, restaurant, interview, dining, rhode island, providence,

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