Local Hero: CHEF, ALBUQUERQUE
An Interview with Chef and Co-owner of Frenchish
Photos by Allison Ramirez
Dinner is served at Frenchish.
“I love what I do,” says Chef Jennifer James. And she’s been doing it in Albuquerque for almost thirty years, owning a handful of restaurants (and being nominated for several James Beard Awards) along the way. Since 2016, she’s co-owned Frenchish with her partner, Nelle Bauer. Frenchish is in Albuquerque’s iconic Nob Hill neighborhood and features James’s seasonal French menus influenced by her farm roots. Born and raised in rural Illinois with, as she says, “a good old-fashioned, small-town upbringing,” she earned a degree in hospitality management from the University of Illinois. Following a brief time working in St. Louis, she found her way to New Mexico, where she’s lived ever since. In her down time, she enjoys short walks with her dog and sipping her apéro of choice, currently the Slow Jen Fizz.
Left: Jennifer James with her dog, Rocky. Right: Chickpea fries and house ketchup with Roadrunner cocktail and orange and fennel–marinated picholine olives.
On a recent evening, one of your dinner specials was Le Café Miche Mussels, a nod to the erstwhile and beloved Albuquerque establishment where you led the kitchen before opening your first restaurant. Can you talk about your journey as a chef and restaurateur, and the allure of French cuisine?
Le Café Miche will always hold a soft spot in my heart for so many reasons, not the least being Claus and Linda, who took a chance on me. It was there that I learned to cook mussels, so it made sense to give them a nod in our weekly-changing mussel preparations.
My journey as a chef started with the very basics of trying to learn everything I could about ingredients, flavor combinations, and techniques. This journey as a chef was fast-tracked, so to speak. I was learning to be a good cook and learning the ropes of a professional kitchen when I was presented with the opportunity to open my own place. That put a new light on everything. I continued to grow and learn and make mistakes along the way. I ultimately learned to be true to myself and never compromise my culinary convictions.
I am enamored with the French culture surrounding food and eating, and how it means something. There is so much respect for the process and the ritual—from apéro with friends to dinner with family. Meals and snacks are not eaten on the go. That is the allure of French cuisine for me.
Steak Frites (New Mexico beef petit filet, aioli, and maître d’ butter) with a manhattan and popcorn. Right: Simple salad (local lettuces and Grandma Bussey’s french dressing) with a martini and sweet and spicy almonds.
Talk about the choice to build an open kitchen at Frenchish. How does that influence the culture of the space?
The choice to have an open kitchen was a very conscious one. We wanted people to see and hear the details of the way a restaurant operates. Even our dish pit is open for viewing. We wanted to be very transparent in our operations. It has created a culture of involvement, on one hand, by our guests, who know the staff and can see what’s happening and, on the other, by the kitchen staff, who can see what’s happening in the dining room. There’s no room for cutting corners or sloppiness or shenanigans from either side. I much prefer an open environment.
This award is for chef, but your restaurants are also known for their wine. What makes for a perfect wine list, and who curates the one at Frenchish?
A perfect wine list is certainly subjective. We try to provide as many options as we can while having a concise selection that resonates with our food. Wine is meant for drinking, so we do not have “a cellar” in the hope of winning some award. We try to provide some special bottles, but we are a neighborhood drop-in place, so providing an ever-changing by-the-glass and apéritif list is important to us. Nelle and I both curate the list, which is predominantly French.
What are you reading?
I am currently skimming two conversational cookbooks by Elizabeth David: French Country Cooking and French Provincial Cooking. I have also been reading Glorious French Food by James Peterson. And I am always skimming the New York Times.
Anything else you’d like to share with edible readers?
I take the job of cooking for people seriously, and I also happen to enjoy it very much.
3509 Central NE, Albuquerque, 505-433-5911, frenchish.co
