Chef James Laird and his business partner Nancy Sheridan Laird, to whom he is married, have made their mark in Chatham with Restaurant Serenade over the past two decades, and celebrate its 20th anniversary this season. From Laird’s first restaurant experiences as a teenager in New Jersey to his current post as an award-winning, highly acclaimed chef whose name is synonymous with “can’t miss it” in the restaurant world, Laird is a down-to-earth guy who wants to know what’s on his plate and also is sure to give back. Read on to learn more about Chef James Laird and what has inspired him throughout his career.
JERSEY BITES: What is your earliest food memory?
CHEF JAMES LAIRD: I was a busboy working in an Italian restaurant in Middlesex, New Jersey. When you’re 14, you’re starving. I grew up very Irish, with meatloaf and baked potatoes, mac and cheese—simple foods. There was London broil, and we always had a baked potato at dinner. And then I’m working in this Italian restaurant and I see tortellini and pasta and Caesar salad and foods my mother never made or ate, and I’m eating it. I would clear the plates of this Italian food. I’m actually eating it off the customers’ plates—I got to clear it, the tortellini, and I’m like, “Wow, I’ve never had anything like this.” That’s my earliest memory of food beyond what my mother made for me.
When did you realize you wanted to make cooking a career? Was there an “aha!” moment?
Probably the following year. I asked the owner if I could work in the kitchen, for free, so I would work in the summer from 8 in the morning until 3, and then take a break and come back at 5 and be a busboy for pay. I was 15. Just seeing the guys making that food, it got me hooked. The restaurant owner mentored me. I was young, I didn’t have any money, I didn’t have a father, so during that time as a busboy, once a month on a Monday, when the restaurant was closed, we would go into the city to all the nicest Italian restaurants in the city, for research. He knew a lot of the owners, so I would get to taste all of this amazing food. This was 1985—or earlier—and I think at that age, you’re so impressionable. To see something I never saw before made me hungry to learn, to do more.
Who are some of your other early influences in the industry?
One of the chefs at that restaurant where I was a busboy was a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and when I was 15 he brought me up there to see the place and to introduce me to the chefs. It was such an eye-opening experience. I knew at a young age that I wanted to cook. Now, cooking is a chosen field. Back then, I don’t think I was the best at homework and stuff like that, so it was a good route for me instead of going to college.
What is your cooking style?
American chef, trained in France. I use American ingredients with French influence and technique, a little bit of global influence in flavors. Really just local food, good food, honest food. Simply prepared, not a lot of cream and butter. Vegetables are my specialty, and then the protein is added at the last minute to make it more salable. You don’t have to eat it just for special occasions. It’s approachable and it just tastes good. And I like the word identifiable: I like to know what I’m eating. The thing a lot of chefs forget is, it looks great, it’s creative, inventive, but do you really want to eat it? Am I ever going to come back for it? You’re cooking for the customers, and those are the people who are paying everybody’s salary and bills.
What is the greatest opportunity that has come to you as a result of cooking?
One of the chefs at that restaurant I worked in was an old Roman chef, who had been in the business for years. He worked on cruise ships, spoke so many languages, he cooked French food, Italian food, American food, and he had also worked with David Burke. This chef got me an interview to work with David Burke when I was 19, and that was an eye-opening moment of my life. Now I’m working in this fancy Brooklyn restaurant, and just really working super hard and enjoying every experience working there. His creativity and the level of dedication for the team, that was a really life-changing [experience] for me.
What is the most memorable meal you’ve had, what did you eat, and where was it?
We were in Spain, by the beach, about five years ago. They were making paella, but not like the paella you would have in Newark in the Ironbound. These were very thin-crusted, and they cook them on an open flame with the shrimp and calamari and lobster from the region. I was with my wife on vacation and I think that anything you have on vacation, when you’re relaxed—it’s a memory. Now if we have a dinner party, we have paella parties because it made such an impression on us.
What is the best advice you have to share with someone interested in becoming a chef?
Definitely try it out first, before you go to culinary school. Definitely go to culinary school. I think it’s a great experience, and eye opening to learn about different styles of food. And you learn wine, you learn design, you learn sanitation. And then figure out what you want to do. Have goals. I think the key to my success is having goals. I’m very goal oriented, whether it’s a long-term goal, like when I was 15, to open my own restaurant, but in between there you have to have short-term goals and medium-range goals. Write them down and work toward them and just work hard. Integrity is the most important thing. Really just be nice to people, don’t burn bridges, treat people with respect.
What is the one staple food you always have in your cupboard at home?
Butter.
What is your beverage of choice?
Don Julio tequila and orange juice. Separate. I drink orange juice in the morning and then if I’m going to have a drink, I drink Don Julio tequila.
What is your favorite comfort food?
Pizza.
What New Jersey restaurant do you enjoy dining at, besides your own?
La Focaccia, in Summit.
If you could have dinner with any three people, living, deceased or fictional, who would they be and why?
Definitely my mother—she died. And my father in law—he died. And that restaurant owner who really started my life out. If it wasn’t for those three people I wouldn’t be where I am today. My mother used to tell me, “hard work!” And my father-in-law helped me buy that first restaurant, and the restaurant owner who mentored me to become what I am today.
Are you working on any upcoming projects our readers would be interested in learning about?
I work with the Community FoodBank, in Hillside. I go there and mentor the kids, and hire them. They have a very nice culinary program. I utilize their staff and bring them to the kitchen to work on my off-premise stuff. I’m on the board of StreetSquash Newark, which is an urban mentorship education program that teaches kids squash, and teaches them leadership and education and college prep. It gives kids a better chance to succeed.
Anything else you’d like to tell us?
Nancy and I are opening a restaurant at the Chatham train station, with New Jersey Transit. That will be probably about nine months to a year out.
Showgoers will have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday season and shop from aisles of specialty food products—many featuring some of the DC area’s top gourmet purveyors—including a wide variety of gift options, while enjoying live demos from James Beard-honored celebrity chefs, partaking in interactive and informative workshops, and enjoying book signings from some of the most celebrated culinary authors in our country. All of this is included in a general admission ticket priced at $21.50 for adults and $10 for children (ages 4 to 12). This event, in its eleventh year, is organized by 
Sparkling Cranberry Cosmo
Ingredients:
Roasted Butternut Squash & Kale with Dried Cranberries and Pistachios
Ingredients/Prep:
The Best Turkey Sandwich 
Building on the success of its iconic 40-year-old establishment in Paterson and large, loyal following, family-owned fried chicken restaurant Chicken Supreme (owned by the Lambrinides family) opened a second location in Hackensack on November 14. Launched on the site of the former Old Harley’s Pub and offering seating for about 25 people, the open-layout restaurant will continue to delight diners with its fresh and homemade fried chicken as well as such menu favorites as the four-piece meal and popular side dishes including french fries, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, cole slaw, rice, macaroni salad, and biscuits. “Our grand opening event will take place on Saturday, November 26, during which time we’ll be offering 10% off of all orders at both locations all day, donating food to a local charity, and giving away over $500 worth of gift cards, which people can enter to win via our Facebook page,” says spokesperson Ed Pirone. “We’re excited to expand to Hackensack and are confident that our new guests will find such a personal touch at Chicken Supreme—the restaurant truly knows its customers and cares about the community.”
Opened on November 1, this casual quick-serve restaurant—the first New Jersey location for this rapidly-growing Toronto-based franchise—offers a range of fresh salads, wraps, bowls, burritos, soups, juices, smoothies, and snacks as well as artisan coffee (branded under the Fair Grounds Coffee moniker). “Our bowls are built on brown rice, quinoa, rice noodles, or kale, to which guests can add vegetables and a protein such as chicken, steak, tofu, or falafel,” explains Stefanie Sheriff, a Flemington native, who owns the 44-seat restaurant with her husband, Stephen. Based on its healthy menu and centralized downtown location, traffic to the new restaurant has been strong in its opening weeks. The Sheriffs report that they’re excited to serve the local community and to bring healthy, affordable meal options to area residents and visitors. 
Previously in operation from 2012 to 2013, Giovanni’s Bistro & Bar in Berkeley Heights was officially relaunched on September 14 by original owners and restaurateurs Bob and Nadine Tokash (who named the restaurant after their grandson) and under the new culinary leadership of CIA-trained Chef Chris Ita, who previously served as Executive Chef at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone. Among the 38-seat restaurant’s signature bistro fare menu items are its organic pan-seared boneless half chicken, rock shrimp with spinach, homemade potato gnocchi, double-cut pork chops, and New York-style cheesecake. “We like to think of ourselves as friends serving friends,” says Greg Gibbs, who is the general manager and a master sommelier. He oversees the restaurant’s small but inclusive wine list and invites diners to enjoy the restaurant’s casual atmosphere and friendly service.
Opened in late October, Naf Naf Grill offers hearty, tasty, and flavorful Mediterranean cuisine and is the most recent extension of the Illinois-based chain. The new Mount Laurel site of Naf Naf Grill represents the first in New Jersey, the second on the east coast. (It’s 24th in the company’s nationwide network of outlets.) According to Destiny Millett, general manager, guests can stack a pita or a bowl with hummus, basmati rice, cous cous, or lettuce topped by a protein (chicken, steak, or falafel), their choice of vegetable, and any of five sauces (including tahini, chile and pepper-based harissa, garlic and mayonnaise, skhug jalapeno-based hot sauce, and pickled mango). “We’re like Chipotle with Middle Eastern flare,” explains Millett. With indoor and outdoor seating for 80, the cozy eatery decorated in orange, gray, and white tones is also high on customer service. “All of our staff members are trained to give ‘Naf Love’ and to go above and beyond expectations,” says Millett of their friendly team of servers. “Our food is very healthy, like a home-cooked meal.”
Holding its soft opening in mid-November (with its grand opening coming after Thanksgiving), this quick service sit-down and take-out establishment, launched by the owners of nearby Montclair Bread Company, hopes to fill a niche in the community’s culinary scene. “We’re an Irish-style fish and chips place,” explains Co-Owner Jessica Woodward. “It’s a basic idea that we’ll specialize in using great ingredients and techniques and a product people love that’s missing in the area.” In addition to cod and other seafood options and a unique housemade curry sauce for its fish and chips, “we’ll be offering authentic sodas and potato chips imported from the U.K.,” Woodward says of the eatery, which features a blue nautical décor (including a boat-themed light fixture) and seats up to 20 people. “We’re all about high-quality food, friendly service, and a relaxed environment in which you can get in and out quickly,” she says.
Set to open in December, Satis Bistro in Bloomfield will represent the second location for this Mediterranean-style salumeria, which has been a well-trafficked dining destination in Jersey City for the past six years. “We serve typical bistro food—elbows up to the table and enjoy,” says chef and owner Michael Fiorianti, of the eatery where “classic dishes and flavor profiles have been rethought and recreated with respect to their origins.” Among the restaurant’s most popular items are its short ribs with chorizo goat cheese mashed potatoes and au poivre sauce as well as its bouillabaisse and housemade ricotta gnocchi with white beans, escarole, and garlic. At the restaurant’s new 3,000 square-foot Bloomfield location, which seats over 90 people between its dining room and bar, “we really just tried to restore the beauty and craftsmanship of the original space, which was a gorgeous old tavern dating back to the late 1800s,” Fiorianti says of the décor in the over century-old site, which features brown and copper tones and such original details as brick walls, tin ceilings, and wood trim work. “I’ve always made it my goal to ensure that when people sit down at Satis Bistro it should be comfortable, unpretentious, and enjoyable, like sitting at a family home,” Fiorianti says. “To now have the opportunity to expand our concept to Bloomfield makes me so incredibly excited and we hope that guests will enjoy the experience and return many times over.”
At 
Plum
Next out was the hirva thecha fennel shrimp with squid pakora (Indian fritters), mushroom khichdi (a South Asian rice and lentil dish) and truffle oil. A stunning presentation (my photo doesn’t do it justice.) This dish was another delightful combination of textures and tastes and went away far too quickly. I could have had a dozen.
Our final appetizer round was the ginger lamb chop with a quinoa pulao (pilaf) and mint chutney. It was explained to us that while quinoa is not a traditional Indian ingredient it is now very popular in India. The lamb was cooked to perfection and paired perfectly with the mint chutney which is savory and acidic.
Owner Kamal Arora, executive chef Shravan Shetty, chef Dayanand Shetty, and
