Foodie Chap: Farmstead Restaurant In St. Helena

KCBS radio Foodie Chap and CBS 5 TV Eye On The Bay host Liam Mayclem introduces us to the culinary stars behind the food and wine loved by so many in the Bay Area.
By Liam Mayclem, the KCBS Foodie Chap

Sheamus Feeley is the Executive Chef of Farmstead Restaurant at Long Meadow Ranch Winery & Farmstead in St. Helena, CA. Farmstead showcases Feeley's seasonal, ingredient-driven American farmhouse cooking, with an authentic farm-to-table menu that highlights local ingredients at their peak freshness. The ingredients in Feeley's kitchen are procured entirely from local sources and feature Long Meadow Ranch's all-natural grass-fed beef and organic and sustainably produced eggs, fruits, vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, and honey.

"Cooking to me is the ability to create memories and create future." - Chef Sheamus Feeley

A native of Fayetteville, AK, Feeley was steeped in the restaurant business from a young age. His father, a family farmer and classically trained chef, taught Feeley how to prepare meals from the bounty of the land, including smoking meats at the wood fire. By 18, his father encouraged him to work for Milanese chef Andrea Frizzi. During college, Feeley moved to Peru, where he shopped at the market daily and learned the importance of cooking with the seasons. After graduation, Feeley moved to Denver and took a team position with Wolfgang Puck, after which he was tapped as chef de cuisine for the opening of Sacre Blue, which sparked many long-standing relationships with farmers and ranchers that have influenced his cooking philosophy.

After working in France (La Coupole) and Denver (Citrus), in 2001 Feeley opened Mateo Restaurant in Boulder. In 2003, he began working with Hillstone Restaurant Group in Los Angeles. With responsibilities ranging from kitchen and general manager to executive chef/research and development, Feeley also worked in the group's New Orleans, Palm Beach and Beverly Hills locations, as well as the famed Rutherford Grill in the Napa Valley.

5 Tasty Questions with
Chef Sheamus Feeley

1. Describe your cuisine at Farmstead in St. Helena.
I'd say it's simple, straight forward, good ol' classic American cooking influenced by what we have available here in California.

2. Where do you find your inspiration?
Memories; all food memories based on what I had at my grandparents, my parents and the basic evolution of what we find everyday here.

3. What is your earliest food memory?
Forging for morrells and watercrests with my father on my grandparent's farm when I was about five years old.

4. What is always in your refrigerator?
Salted cultured butter, and lots of it!

5. At your last supper, who will be at the table and what will you eat?
Lucinda and Miller Williams, Lyle Lovett, definitely Willie Nelson, maybe Buck Owens, and we're going to have sloppy joes, Planters Cheese Curls and tropical punch Kool-Aid.

LM: Very tasty answers, Chef Sheamus!

Chef Sheamus Feeley's Grits and Grillades

(Pictured above)

Ingredients

3 # LMR grass-fed beef chuck, cut 2" x 2"
2 cups celery, small dice
2 cups onions, small dice
1 cup red bell peppers, small dice
Vegetable oil for browning beef
1 qt. beef stock + 1 cup
2 tbsp. Fresh garlic, minced
½ cup tomato paste
3 bay leaves
¾ cup roux
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp. Fresh rosemary
1 tsp white pepper, ground
1 tsp black pepper, ground
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp allspice
2 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp smoked paprika
¾ cup dark roux
Salt to taste

Season chuck with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown beef in vegetable oil. Transfer browned beef to a separate plate.
Leave about ¼ cup of oil in the pan and add celery, onion and bell pepper. Cook on medium until vegetables are soft and cooked. Add tomato paste and garlic and cook for one minute. Add veal stock and the rest of the ingredients, except the roux and beef. Bring mixture to a simmer, than add the dark roux. Once the sauce thickens, transfer it to a braising pan with the beef. Cover and braise at 300 degrees for 3 – 4 hours, or until the beef is tender. Serve over the grits and garnish with thinly sliced green onions, or parsley.

For the dark roux:
Combine ¾ cup of vegetable oil and 1 ¼ cup flour in a pot with a whisk. Transfer to a 350degree oven for about an hour, or until roux is the color of dark stained wood. Be sure to stir throughout the process, as it will burn.

ENJOY!

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