![]() Q: What were your plans before becoming a chef?Ī: I went to Minnesota State in Mankato, getting ready to go to law school. Not being able to eat has been one of the hardest things lately. I’ve been on a pretty liquid and soft food diet ever since the accident. Q: How has it affected your cooking and daily meals?Ī: Right now, I am the smoothie master. There is a lot of time to think and lay and reflect and be grateful and appreciative for the things I have and the path my life is on… It gave me time to think and appreciate the things I have accomplished and the important things in my life. I had two TV shows we were about to start filming, a book tour, everything on all cylinders, and in a split second everything is put on pause. Some of the silver linings, it was definitely a forced slow-down. The accident was pretty crazy, and a lot of people don’t walk away from those situations. I’m very, very lucky and blessed to be still here. What do you want people want to know? How has the accident affected your approach to things?Ī: It shifted things drastically. Q: In July, you were involved in a pretty bad boating accident. All sides of the family came together for holidays and Sunday dinners. Growing up, family dinners and get-togethers were very important. They were both extremely different, and made very good food. Food was their love language, that’s where it all started. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen with my grandmothers. It was sushi, collard greens and lefse at the table growing up. I have a grandmother from Japan, a Norwegian grandfather, (a grandmother) from Mississippi. What traditions and meals from your childhood influence your cooking today?Īnswer: It started with a very multicultural background. Sutherland is currently the host of TruTV's Fast Foodies, and will appear as a judge on Food Network's Kitchen Crash this fall. Moving to Atlanta for culinary school introduced even more to his repertoire. While his restaurants and roots start in Minnesota, Sutherland’s early kitchen influences lean heavily on his childhood in Apple Valley, Minn., his Japanese and southern grandmothers, and travel with his mother, who worked for an airline. This article originally appeared in our Smoke + Salt 2019 issue.Disparate yet seamless elements of his life influence his approach to cooking and menus, food being the connecting force at every turn. Whatever it might be, he says, “I try to keep myself on my toes.” He plans to change up the menu seasonally and isn’t ruling out opening an additional restaurant someday. On another wall is a painting of the boat once piloted by Byrd’s stepfather, who taught him a love of the sea-and “to try everything once,” he adds.īyrd points to his 28-person staff, which includes members of his family, as a key to his success, along with his close relationship with his suppliers. Painted by Tommy Fox, the lush underwater scene shows a diver swimming amid some of the marine life found on the Dredge menu. This is underscored by a mural on one wall that holds special significance for Byrd. “Our ‘fresh out of the water’ slogan is what we highlight, but things like the jerk chicken also show my dedication to the islands.” “I knew I wanted to bring a bit of Key West back to my hometown,” Byrd says. Island flavor is injected into a few staples, such as Caribbean jerk chicken, pallomilla steak, and whole fried fish, served alongside black beans, white rice, and plantains. Entrees include unusual offerings such as Byrd’s pho, the chef’s take on the traditional Vietnamese noodle soup with a choice of steak, shrimp, or oysters, and a house-made pasta with beef short rib. Oysters, fish, and shrimp also show up as filling choices for Dredge’s taco menu (along with Cuban pork). Dredge offers three kinds-Windmill Point Oysters of Little Bay, Old Salts out of Chincoteague, and wild-caught Rappahannocks harvested by Kellum’s Seafood in Weems-served raw or roasted on the half-shell or fried alongside a tangy remoulade. On the menu, oysters are the main attraction. He then jumped at an opportunity to take over the now-vacant restaurant space, opening Dredge in February of this year. ![]() After several years in Key West working in the restaurant industry, Byrd came back home and opened Byrd’s Seafood Co., a successful food truck. As a young boy, he helped his mother with odd jobs at the restaurant she managed, and later, as a teenager, he bussed tables in the very restaurant Dredge would one day replace. Tucked along the Rappahannock River just before it meets the Chesapeake Bay, the town was already known for the coastal Tides Inn Resort, but now Dredge is making it a foodie destination, too.īyrd grew up in Irvington with seafood and restaurants in his bloodstream. Here, water is both inspiration and livelihood. ![]() ![]() Oysters and clams are just a few of the specialties at Dredge, a new restaurant and bar owned by chef Bryan Byrd in the small town of Irvington on the Northern Neck. ![]()
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