“The bread, the cheese, and the flavors…” he started, his eyes lighting, and hands pretending to touch each ingredient he described - many of which I had never heard of before, but suddenly craved. This was Chef Terrance Brennan, longtime owner of the pristine Picholine, and he was speaking about sandwiches. “I could really get into sandwiches,” Terrance shared and went on to reveal that it is his hope to open a shop devoted to this new passion someday in the not-too-distant future. In that moment, it seemed he could fully invest himself into anything, perfecting it to the last tiny detail.
Chef Terrance’s most notable passion has been with French cheese. Paying “homage de fromage,” he was the previous owner of Artisanal, a restaurant complete with a cheese shop and a temperature-controlled cheese cave. And Picholine is widely regarded for its diversified cheese cart. A most memorable moment for me was watching my daughter several years ago, a great lover of cheeses, elated when the cart was rolled over to our table and presented to her at the end of our incredible dinner.
But if his fixation became a slice of pizza, I am sure Chef Terrance would whip out the fresh mozzarella, the juicy tomatoes, and the hint of oregano alongside other spices on soft, but firmly crusted, dough just the same. After all, he did get his culinary start working in his parents’ Virginia-based pizzeria from age twelve, and moving on to work under hotel chefs and at a steak house where, thrown on the grill line in the absence of a broiler chef, he was overtaken by an adrenaline rush. All before the age of eighteen.
Characteristic of a great chef, Terrance wanted to perfect and refine his skills. So after becoming a notable sous chef, he refused an offer to be the executive chef at a small hotel. He said, “I wanted to get so good, I would not have to worry about taking a day off.” His next move was to come to New York, work his way up in fine French restaurants, and complete his own “finishing school,” a series of stages studying under talented chefs in Europe. The most extraordinary outcome of his experience has been Picholine, opened in 1993 and redesigned in 2006 in evolution with the dynamic city.
Aside from the cheese, Picholine is most notable for wild Scottish game - four different kinds of birds, and a hare. “No one does it like we do, “ Chef Terrance smiled. His other dishes are prepared with just as much finesse. A fun mix of crispy and dehydrated then rehydrated carrots alongside well-seasoned labneh made an inviting appetizer. Playfully textured Parmesan foam sat upon the white and green asparagus salad with smoked trout row, and steam danced off the smoked sturgeon panna cotta when unveiled from its cloche, plated over rich-colored red beets and topped with golden osetra caviar.
It was a special time, standing in the restaurant at the conclusion of the staff meeting, just moments from its opening. The lights go dim and the cheese cart rolls down the long, mauve-walled and carpeted hallway. Glasses at the bar top are chilled, centerpiece candles brought to flame, and a vase of eggplant-colored calla lilies rearranged. A trickle of classical music is introduced as the deep purple curtains and ornate chandelier hold their posts. And when the clock strikes five, good conversation seats itself on cushy, leather chairs, and shared tastes on plates baring a lovely Picholine olive branch design.
