Farm fresh: AGAINN’s chef has a passion for authentic, home-cooked food

A Saints fan. A Southerner with a deep passion for abundant, fine, home-cooked meals. And, the offspring of a family of devoted cooks. Executive chef Wesley Morton, of the British gastro-pub AGAINN, certainly is no stranger to the ways of the kitchen. As he says of his upbringing, “I grew up in a family based around the kitchen. So this is a natural progression. … My grandmother was a big influence because she cooked lunch for the whole family on Sundays.”

In fact, he muses nostalgically, both grandmothers cooked well, and the family always had braised meats or pork with gravy.

“We had fresh chickens, farm eggs, vegetables from the garden,” he said. “We had a lot of property. It was not really a farm, but we did have cattle. We never went to market to buy meat.”

Indeed, the family butchered whole pigs and lamb for the family table, he added, pointing out they knew how their animals had been raised.

“We fed the pigs on wild garlic, wild clover and cheese whey. That’s an old European way to feed pigs, like the pigs in [Italy’s] Parma,” he said.

Now, as an up-and-coming young chef in food-centric D.C., Morton finds himself overseeing a kitchen that prides itself on sourcing and using farm-fresh, organic and local ingredients. Sure, all that local-sourcing talk may seem like a cliche, but to a country-raised chef who grew up on farm-fresh ingredients, it’s a bit like cooking and eating at home.

Plus, Morton has been charged to deliver appealing British pub fare, the kind that calls for a tall bottle of ale or scotch on the rocks (Note: The restaurant offers a scotch locker to store your favorite label).

“I took a food trip to London,” he said, “and ate at Michelin one-star restaurants. I did lots of research.”

Fortunately for Morton and his bosses, this chef’s training has set him up to serve delicious upscale comfort food with much aplomb. For one, Morton attended the New England Culinary Institute, a school he describes as having small classes and intense, hands-on training. From there, Morton has worked in a variety of top-tier restaurants, including Navio at the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay, Calif.; the French Laundry in Napa Valley, Calif.; and at D.C.’s Citronelle, Circle Bistro and CityZen.

With such a prestigious resume to his credit, Morton gives tribute to his grandmother on his father’s side for inspiring his culinary journey in the first place.

“She made good old Southern food,” he said.

But he quickly points out that Eric Torralba in Napa Valley taught him all the basics, assigning Morton the garden detail. And as for D.C.’s Eric Ziebold of CityZen, Morton said he is one of the best chefs he has ever worked with.

“He has been a major influence,” he said, “especially because of his demeanor and the way he treats his staff.”

Now that all is said and done and with his career firmly set, Morton — whose parents have a family business as environmental consultants — conceded they wanted him to follow along in their business.

“But it wasn’t for me,” he said. “The whole restaurant business has always intrigued me. It’s a huge creative outlet.”

Q&A with Chef Wesley Morton

What’s your comfort food?

Pasta or roast chicken. As for pasta, it would be a proper carbonara — not with cream but with cured pork jowl, egg yolks, Parmesan cheese and black pepper.

What is your favorite dessert?

That’s hard, but I love a proper creme brulee with a silky custard and a paper-thin sugar coat that’s almost burnt on the top.

What are your basics for stocking a pantry?

Salt, butter, cider vinegar and pork products. That’s it.

What’s been your luckiest moment?

Getting the job in Napa Valley. They didn’t want to accept me as an intern, but it worked out. That got me to see sustainability on a professional level.

What’s in your fridge?

Champagne, cheese, salami, juice boxes for my 4-year-old son, farmstead butter and stuff for tacos.

From the Chef’s Kitchen

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Warm Butterscotch Sauce

Serves 12

6 oz. pitted Medjool dates, snipped or chopped

1 Tbsp espresso powder

1 tsp baking soda

4 Tbsp unsalted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1 tsp ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter 12 (4-oz.) metal pudding molds.

Combine the dates, espresso powder, 1 cup water and baking soda in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat. When it is cool, puree in a blender.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and ginger and stir it into the mixture in three additions. Fill the molds halfway with the mixture, set them into a large baking pan, fill it with water halfway up the molds and steam in the oven for 1 1/2 hours.