Chef Garrett Lipar and Licorice Lace
Chef Garrett loves using our licorice lace with dishes containing duck, quail, and venison. The anise-like flavors of licorice lace are ideal for autumn dishes. “I’ve been a customer of The Chef’s Garden,” he says, “for eight or nine years at two different restaurants. I really like the licorice lace in fall dishes because its flavors lend themselves well to the richness of, say, bone stock or au jus.”
He uses the plant in a dish with duck broth, several different types of mushrooms, and sliced turnips. He also cooks with the licorice lace and uses it as a garnish for a one-two flavor punch.
Besides using licorice lace in dishes with game, he appreciates how well it meshes with mushroom dishes. “It just fits the season and works well with the woody flavors of mushrooms.”
Plus, Chef Garrett loves the “beautiful color, wispiness, and texture of the fronds. It’s so appealing and fits the season.”
Garrett grew up appreciating the seasons in Waterford, Michigan. He spent time in his grandparents’ wonderful garden, where he helped them grow, taste, can, and pickle the produce. At the age of fourteen, he began working in a restaurant kitchen, starting with dishwashing and becoming a line cook.
Chef Garrett attended Scottsdale Culinary Institute and then interned at a New York City restaurant and transferred to restaurants in Chicago along with Stockholm, Sweden, where he picked up Scandinavian influences in his culinary style.
Chefs: we encourage you to experiment with licorice lace in your own dishes and menus!