Beth Martinez, manager and co-owner of Bistro Les Gras in Northampton, said that her husband, chef and co-owner Daniel Martinez, is still closely tied to the restaurant after transitioning the kitchen over to Peter Bunce and Christina Prairie. Bunce is the new chef de cuisine at the French farm to table restaurant and Prairie is pastry chef.
"Having Peter and Christina in the kitchen has obviously taken some of the pressure off of Dan in terms of his responsibilities, from the day to day and overall," said Beth Martinez.
"We've been doing this for seven years now and it's nice to have some people in the kitchen who can recognize the vision we're trying to execute and also bring in their own fresh set of ideas. Sometimes you need a different point of view."
Martinez shared that her husband has enjoyed working with Bunce and Prairie since they started at the restaurant in the past year and especially since July when they took over many responsibilities.
"Dan and I have been doing multiple people's jobs for a long time and having Peter and Christina is taking some weight off," said Martinez.
"We're both really excited. Dan will help with prep and start sauces. The job that I do is all out front and the financial business aspects. It's a little more than one person can do so having Dan help me is really nice."
Martinez shared that their time in the industry has helped them figure out quickly what kind of role a person will have at their restaurant. It was noticeable early on that chefs Bunce and Martinez have a similar style and approach to food. Beth Martinez noted that something like that is rare and difficult for a mentor to instill.
"While we wanted someone to be able to take over the restaurant, we didn't want to change into something totally different. We still want to have the same core set of ideas and it became pretty apparent that it would not be difficult with Peter in charge of the kitchen," she said.
Bunce, originally from Western Mass., worked as a chef in Hyannis area for many years. He and Prairie, his partner, moved back to the area and continue the Supper Club project they began on Cape Cod.
"The original idea was to come here and find jobs and really focus on the Supper Club and build that," said Bunce, detailing the difficulty and months it took to find work. He dropped an application off at the farm to table restaurant and got a call back.
"What we were doing here was right up my alley and I'm glad I didn't take a job before then," said Bunce.
"Dan and I just click. The way he cooks is how I cook. I learned a ton from him and he's a really talented guy."
What's percolating on future menus? Seasonal and sustainable ingredients for appetizers, sides and mains as well as raw and cured snacks and cheeses.
"It's usually what we want to eat and putting things together from there," said Christina Prairie.
"We're excited about having tomatoes, corn, watermelon, cherries and stone fruit on the menu. As the season changes, we can swap things out and keep it fresh and local. We'll also have dishes inspired by flavor combinations we've found elsewhere but with our own twist on it."
Bistro Les Gras is located at 25 West Street in Northampton. For menu highlights, visit bistrolesgras.com and instagram.com/bistrolesgras.