A lot of us have known Brian Alberg as the go-to guy for food at the Red Lion Inn. But now he’s in charge of a much larger food operation all over Berkshire County. He became the chef at The Red Lion Inn on July 4, 2004, and has expanded his reach to become Vice President of Food and Beverage Operations for the Main Street Hospitality Group, which includes the newly opened Eat on North in Pittsfield, the Williams Inn, and, of course, The Red Lion Inn.
Although Alberg is the organization’s Executive Chef, each restaurant has its own Chef de Cuisine, who is in charge of the day-to-day running of the restaurant. Alberg’s responsibilities include menu development and planning and staff training. Given Eat on North’s newness, Alberg has made it his home base since it opened in June, but he has a hands-on approach at all three restaurants.
Alberg trained at the CIA, the school foodies recognize as totally different from the more infamous CIA. He always aspired to be a chef, and as a 14-year old chef wannabe, he became an apprentice at the prestigious l’Hostelrie Brassone in Hillsdale. In between his training at the CIA and working at the Red Lion Inn, he worked at restaurants in New England.
As Alberg began his career in the late 1980’s, cooking locally and seasonally had not yet become the rallying cry for serious chefs. Back then “people were into flying mushrooms in from Washington State.” But that began to change in the 1990s. “That’s when I met Ted Dobson. He’d come to the back door of the kitchen with his fresh vegetables.” As more farmers marketed directly to chefs, seasonality assumed primary importance. As did locally grown food.
Alberg buys regularly from eight farmers in the Berkshires, the Pioneer Valley, and New York State. But there are another dozen farmers that he patronizes on a seasonal basis. Several of the farmers — Laura Meister of Farm Girl Farm in Sheffield and Dale Riggs of Berry Patch Farm in Stephentown, N.Y. —consult with him on what crops he would like them to grow for the next season. But as Alberg says, “Others just grow what they grow.”
By now, seasonality is integral to Alberg’s cuisine. When asked what he most liked to cook, he said “Well, it depends on the season.” And that’s why if you dine at one of the restaurants he oversees right now, you’ll find sweet corn and tomatoes in prominent positions on his menus.
Alberg’s menus are not just based on seasonality, but on what’s available locally, too. Of course, what’s in season has a short shelf life, so Alberg relies on preservation to keep favorites like corn and tomatoes on his menus all year long. . By preserving the best of the season’s produce, he can extend their “season.”
In general, vegetables are Alberg’s favorite ingredients. He loves corn, so it’s no surprise to see it on his menus now. But you can also find it in February as sweet corn puree or chilled sweet corn bisque. Ditto tomatoes and other summer favorites.
Alberg has been at the forefront of promoting local food. A longtime member of Berkshire Grown, the nonprofit organization that promotes local food, he served as their president for two years.
Just this past weekend, Alberg was one of the chefs at the fifth edition of the Outstanding in the Field dinner held in the Berkshires. “Nothing is more exciting than cooking in the fields where the food was raised and grown for people who enjoy eating it.” The dinner for 200 guests was held at Lila Berle’s sheep farm.
Although seasonality is a primary component of Alberg’s menu development, he does not operate in a vacuum. At the macro level, he keeps abreast of current culinary trends. And at the micro level, he pays attention to guest comments. “The Red Lion Inn has its own history and persona, and I would never dream of taking turkey or prime rib or apple pie off that menu,” he says. “Those dishes are part of our history and identity.” But his own personal preferences play a role, too. “Whenever I long for New Orleans, I put gumbo on the menu.”
In general, though, Alberg makes major changes to his menus twice a year. “Changes are made as things come into season. Some will stay on for three to four months, and then we’ll trade them off. Say serving a cubano instead of a bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwich.”
As Alberg’s responsibilities have expanded to encompass oversight of three restaurants in three very different parts of Berkshire County, he has had to cut down on his kitchen time to do more “front of the house” work. That includes oversight of 30 kitchen employees across the three restaurants. “I make sure invoices are in check, oversee quality control, guide the staff, and work on the line to insure consistency in the kitchen.”
Eat on North’s chef is Sean Corcoran, who moved to the Berkshires from Westchester a few months ago with his family. And speaking of family, Sean’s brother Jim is the chef at Great Barrington’s Allium restaurant. Corcoran appears to be as heavily tattooed as Alberg, which is to say “a lot.”
We know that chefs are good with their hands for how else could they cook? But along with being a chef, Alberg is a talented woodworker. He built all of the small dining tables at Eat on North, and refinished the larger ones used in the restaurant’s previous incarnation. And if you’re on Alberg’s Facebook page, often you can see recent additions to his woodworking inventory.
Alberg was one of the original chefs involved in Railroad Street Youth’s culinary program. Each semester the Red Lion Inn typically hosts eight high school students who work in the kitchen once a week during the school year. One of the young women who interned at the Red Lion Inn has gone on to become the Food and Beverage Manager for The Four Seasons in Washington, D.C.
Alberg is proud to be part of an organization that is helping to make the Berkshires a culinary and lodging destination. “In the last two years, we’ve doubled our number of rooms and tripled the number of our restaurants,” he says. Obviously, he believes that the Berkshires is in a good place to grow while maintaining its healthy life style. “Keep our landscape green and promote the arts.” Amen.
