Issue link: http://southshoremagazine.uberflip.com/i/205938
great tastes ~ Brassiere Zapp In a country as prosperous as ours we are fortunate that eating is more than giving our bodies proper nutrition. Nowadays, food for the American embodies much more than that. We are addicted to the Food Network, food magazines, foodie books, foodie blogs and foodie TV stars. I believe the reason we are so drawn to the food revolution that has taken over our country is that in this complex world of technology, we have lost touch with one another on a basic human level. And so food, a necessity, is the perfect excuse for us to come together and share and nurture our souls. Food is generosity, food is love. said with a twinkle in his eye. After living in LA for a while, he moved to Boston, a city where he had lived before and liked. He took a chef's job at a restaurant in Dorchester and turned their menu around. Soon after that success, he found himself working for The Red Lion's brilliant and visionary owner Gerd Oredelhede, who eventually gave him full run of Brassiere Zapp. Together with Oredelhede, Chef Kourda put a charming beer garden outside. A new restaurant on the Red Lion's compound is in the planning stages and will open soon. Its theme and food is not yet determined, but expect something groundbreaking. To be an excellent chef, you must have a naturally generous heart and a spirit that thrives on an unyielding need to please, nurture and love. Chef Richid Kourda of Brassiere Zapp, located inside the Red Lion Inn in Cohasset, exemplifies all these fine qualities, making eating at this fine establishment a transcendent experience. Being a chef wasn't something Chef Kourda wanted at first. He vividly remembers the day when his father handed him a chef's jacket and said to him, "I have the perfect school for you." Soon after, Chef Kourda found himself enrolled in the culinary arts program at the famed Lycée Hélène Boucher in Lyon, France, where his father worked as a My Dinner with Chef Kourda—A most generous chef! by John Piccardi Chef Kourda, who is not only the executive chef, but also the general manager of Brassiere Zapp, is a kind and giving man who grew up in Tunisia and later France. He told me throughout our visit together that he loved America, that it was the best country on Earth and that he was intensely happy to be living here. "Life is so good in America," he said to me, smiling widely, his proclamations full of such genuine passion and sincerity. Right at that moment I knew that a man who spoke with such fervency would be able to completely wow anyone he cooked for. diplomat and his mother the General Manager of a Home Bank. "At first, I cried. I did not want to work in a restaurant. But I think my father knew I liked being around people and excitement and he was right," Chef Kourda said, shrugging and letting out a mischievous chuckle. "I really love people." Count your foodie blessings that Chef Kourda's father had the keen insight to send his son to culinary school. This once reluctant chef has turned into a man who fully embraces and cherishes his position as executive chef. His After only a moment of watching kitchen is impeccably clean him work, I had no doubts that and he is downright picky and he was the multi-tasking genius passionate when it comes to behind the exciting new success choosing the right food to work that Brassiere Zapp is now with. He shops at food markets experiencing. He is a non-stop all over the South Shore and, tornado of energy who is constantly when the season dictates, he making sure his customers are buys locally grown produce. He getting the very best of food and uses organic ingredients when first rate service. Within half an he can and says it is his way Star of Excellence hour, he was talking to customers, of being a good steward of the 2013 giving pre-meals, preparing for the environment. A die-hard stickler dinner rush, finding keys, making a demi-glace, cleaning fish, advising his on purchasing the freshest products he can get his hands on, he is no stranger superior staff and making sure there was a enough cash in the register. to the local markets, where he is well-known for opening crates of vegetables Despite his numerous tasks, he does them all with a smile. "Life is so good," and digging out the best head of lettuce he can find. Every tomato, purple he said to me as the busy night unfolded. potato, lobster, clam, mussel, rack of lamb and everything else on his impressive menu is checked and examined and it must pass under his prudent While inspecting an impressive batch of oysters, he told me he lived in Los eye. Everything plated by his cooks must obtain Chef Kourda's approval Angeles for a while, working under Wolfgang Puck and his famed Oscar before being sent out into the dining room. He looks at each plate carefully party. "I couldn't believe it. My dreams had come true," Chef Kourda and thoughtfully, as if looking at a precious gem through a jeweler's eyepiece. 74