Article and photography by Fitz
(Lead photo of Anne Galante during the rush at Stockpot)
“Sometimes you want to run and hide but in open air kitchens there is nowhere to go.” -Galante
Chef Anne Galante isn’t being dramatic with her words, particularly when it comes to running her new restaurant, Stockpot. It gets tight in there. Hitting capacity is commonplace and lines out the door are far from an oddity. Galante is doing so many things right in there however, I’m not sure why she would feel the need to hide.
(Galante pre-rush at Stockpot)
Besides the tiny utility closet, converted into a make-shift office, or the head, there’s no where for Galante to avoid the public’s gaze while cooking at her new restaurant. Maybe it’s the Seinfeld Soup Nazi esc scowl she gets on her face while intently working her food that might lead to a brief moment of self consciousness. I’m not sure. But for anyone that’s eaten her food, they know, she belongs on the open air stage, front and center.
(Galante simmers her broths for 15 hours, with a batch going six days a week)
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Galante is doing three things very well that helps make her a bit of a culinary “bad ass”, as chef and writer Josh Gregory described her to me. First, she is low and slow cooking all her soups. Galante simmers her broths for 15 hours, with a batch going six days a week. Second, she is often scratch cooking. All of Galante’s bone broths are made from scratch. Third, Galante is legitimately sourcing local not just paying it lip service like so many other restaurants. She buys from Cromwell Farms, Dave & Dee’s, Speedy’s, The Bakehouse at Chelsea, just to name a few. Put all that together along with technique developed in years past from her time at Terrapin and Pacifica and you get some of the best elevated comfort food in the area.
(Stockpot’s chicken noodle soup)
So why choose to do an open air spot so intrinsically connected to the public? After all, Galante will tell you she can be a, “grumpy chef” and, as she told me, “there are days when we are in the weeds and it’s difficult for me to engage in conversation and still manage cooking for a dining room full of hungry guests.” After watching her shift into a higher gear on a day she first told me was a slow day to only fifteen minutes later have to move my camera bag off the bar due to there not being any other seats available, I think she desires the challenge more than any social inconvenience. As she explained, “It is great to feel the energy of the dining room when it fills up. It makes us better chefs to see guests eating our food. There is no hiding whether they like it or not. We can see any expression and hear most all comments.”
(Stockpot’s pork carnitas)
At Stockpot, Galante approaches making soup without restrictions. As she put it, “The advantage of cooking soups is that there are no rules. There are endless flavor combinations and ingredients to choose from.” For me, Stockpot is Virginia Beach culinary improv theatre. Pull up a stool and check out one studied leading lady.
For more on Galante and Stockpot visit them HERE
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