Ian Calhoun (MBA 2010) grew up in kitchens, first at the elbow of his mother ("a great cook, a schoolteacher, always happy to show me some stuff") and then, in high school and college, as a line cook in restaurants all over New England. A graduate of Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration and Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, Calhoun currently is co-owner and general manager of 80 Thoreau, a contemporary American fine-dining restaurant in Concord, Massachusetts. "Restaurants are a mix of art and science," he says of the notoriously risky business. "If you go too far in one direction, you're not going to end up with great results."

Favorite food memory: Helping out with ravioli for Thanksgiving, chicken cacciatore in winter. "My grandmother is Italian."

Photo by Tim Llewellyn

 

Photo by Anthony Tieuli

Post-work meal: Eaten around 11 p.m. or later, often at the home of either Calhoun or his business partner, Vincent Vela. "We usually go heavy—beef, potatoes, and a big bottle of red wine."

After-work beverage: "Right now it's mostly wine. I've been focused on the Rhône Valley in France—it's a cool area because the wines are so diverse and offer a good value. I'm also a Gibson fan—basically, a martini with cocktail onions. We preserve our own onions at the restaurant and use batch-made gin from Berkshire Mountain Distillers in Massachusetts."

Kitchen essentials: "A really nice, heavy sauté pan that can also go in the oven. A pair of tongs. A fish spatula. And one great knife."

Oddest diner request: Patio seating. "We're a second-story restaurant located in a train depot."

Beets? Basta! "I think people describe them as tasting earthy. To me, they taste like dirt. We did have a really awesome vegetarian tart made with beets, chard, and blue cheese. The earthiness of the dish cut through its richness."

Worth the wait: A four-course meal based on local corn and tomatoes, offered only in August.

Weekend hobby: BBQ. "I usually do pork shoulder or ribs. A couple of years ago I got a special smoker. It's nice because it forces you to commit the whole day and slows you down—ribs take 6 hours and shoulders take 14 or 15 hours. One of the highlights of the year is having the whole 80 Thoreau staff to my house for BBQ. I experiment with the wood, the rub, the meat—you want it to be your best stuff."

Three ingredients for success: People, place, and product. "Who buys your product, and why? Why would someone want to come here often? Single visits won't do it."  —Julia Hanna

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