Name: Deb Paquette Current occupation: Chef/Owner of restaurants Etch and etc. How long there: Etch: 4 years. etc. just opened last week! What’s the last meal you ate? An unidentifiable quesadilla or it could’ve been arugula with pulled pork and lots of red onions!

What’s your favorite recipe to cook at home?

No recipe, just roasted chicken with lots of fresh herbs, a big-ass salad with all the garden goodies and my husbands incredible red wine vinegar.

What’s your favorite dish at a local restaurant?

Japchae at Korea House

What’s the one ingredient you can’t live without? 

Hellman’s

Cooking tool you can’t live without? 

A wooden spoon...it does everything!

What 3 things are always in your fridge? 

Yogurt

Heinz ketchup

Mayo

Who’s your chef hero? 

Those Volt brothers are incredible!

What's your favorite food city (to visit) and why? 

Miami - for all the different types of Latin cuisine that is not a taco!

What 3 words would you use to describe the current dining scene in Nashville? 

Glowing, tempting, confederated!!!

Name one place you think is a hidden gem in our city?  

I love an old-school patty melt at the Filling Station in Kingston Springs, and the music is great!

Is there a food-related business/type of restaurant that you think Nashville is missing and hope to see in the future? 

A real New York Deli…with lots of noise and orders being screamed out and a badass pastrami sandwich!!!

Favorite thing to do in Nashville on your day off?

Spend time with my loved ones, clean the house, garden and drink!

What drink starts your day? Ends your night?

To begin: intravenous coffee

To end: grapefruit juice with vodka or tequila

In your three decades of cooking, you've seen a lot of restaurants come and go - any one you particularly miss?

Zola!!

Roasted Beets with Caraway Cream & Smoked Apple Sauce

Recipe yields enough for 6 salads

Roasted Beets:

Enough beets to give each person 3 slices

1-2 tsp. salt, to taste

1 tsp. black pepper

2 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. salad oil

2 Tbsp. water 

Peel beets and be sure to trim the root end well. (It gives you that dirt taste!)

Slice about 3/8" thick.  

Place beets in 11" x 8" roasting pan and season.  Cover with foil and roast in a 400-degree oven until tender.

Let cool before placing in fridge.

Caraway cream

2Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 cup sour cream  

1/2 cup strained yogurt  

pinch of celery salt

pinch of granulated onion

Pulse-grind seeds in spice grinder. Stop before it’s a dusty consistency!

Put all ingredients n a bowl and mix well.

Smoked Apple Puree

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup smoked cider vinegar

¼ lb. butter

Pinch of salt

Smoke apples at 86 degrees for one hour.

Place sugar in small pot on medium heat until sugar browns. Do no stir until the next step – do not leave alone! 

Add vinegar carefully, for it may sputter.

Now stir and keep on low heat until sugar re-melts.

Add apples and butter.

Cover and simmer until apples are slightly cooked (remove from heat before they get mushy).

Add salt and puree in blender till incredibly smooth!

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