“When we do the tasting menus at a(MUSE.) we asked each guest three questions. What do you love in season? Do you have any allergies or intolerances? Is there anything you’d rather stay away from? So in the restaurant, we can be doing five tasting menus and they can all be different. In my creative approach, Everything has to be technique. I’m not in a place where I can just put a radish on a plate and serve it. I have to manipulate it. The vegetables is a perfect, beautiful thing. And how can I not mess that up? How can I deliver it in its peak of flavor? And how can I presented in a way where the guests will enjoy it and really get a sense of what it is?”

So you can get fresh pasta from so many different makers right now. Even if you don’t have a home extruder, it’s pretty easy to get fresh pasta. So I think you start with the pasta. If you’re using dry pasta, that’s fine. There’s a place for that as well. Next thing I think is your cheese selection. I think that you need some depth in your cheese. So using a couple of different cheeses, depending on if it’s white or yellow. I think Gruyere as some really nice nuttiness. I think Fontina adds some depth there also. Really understanding your cheeses, white cheddar of course and different ages. It’s kind of a classic. And then I don’t think flour is needed. I think that if you are a home cook and you use sour salt, it’s called sodium citrate, you can make any cheese into the perfect melting consistency. Like Velveeta. The perfect mac and cheese cheese. So you use 9 to 12 percent of that of total weight of cheese.

I think you need some acid in there. Some people use mustard as their acid, some people use an alcoholic cider. Kind of like doing a fondue play. Or I think that using a beer would be interesting. So when you can add a little acidity to help cut the fat, the mustard is nice because it adds that kind of spice as well. Tabasco is nice. Tabasco is a vinegar based hot sauce. It has that kind of brightness that you’re looking for. Nutmeg would make it more, you know, the Italian Bechamel.

Pasta is like a nicely dressed salad. You don’t want too much dressing. You want it to evenly coated, understanding the consistency of your sauce and you don’t need to bake it or you could bake it. One of the best mac and cheese you can make is Cacio e Pepe. I think that if you have some parmesan, if you have olive oil or butter, pasta, water and black pepper and a good pasta, if your emulsification technique is good, you can make it beautiful. It’s not mac and cheese, but it’s so simple.

I always want my food to be, no matter how progressive it is, always grounded in the Mid-Atlantic, but seasonal and regional.

We often speak of food from the South and New England. We think of Louisiana cuisine. But the Mid-Atlantic is sometimes overlooked as a cuisine. But I think we have a lot of history and rich heritage.

As a modern chef, I’m taking a lot of the fat in the roux out of things. Fat is a tool for flavor. So if you’re using it well, it’s fine. Back in the old days, a lot of these old recipes have a lot of flour and butter that aren’t necessary, things that kind of get in the way of flavor.

When I first opened up, I was more militaristic about the only using ingredients in our food shed. Now it’s more about sourcing the best things that I can and making the guest happy.

I’ve only ever been in competition with myself. I feel like if I’m paying attention to other people, I’m taking the eye off of my craft and what I’m doing.

Chef Hari Cameron

a(MUSE.) & GrandPa Mac

a(MUSE.) restaurant

GrandPa Mac