Off-screen romance
Puerto Rico’s star chef returns to first love – restaurants
You'll find her making chicharrones, not coq au vin. But the so-dubbed “Julia Child of Puerto Rico” is now cooking up something special in the same city that late icon long called home. Head to Cambridge and you'll get a glimpse of Giovanna Huyke, a celebrated Puerto Rican chef and television personality who earned that comparative nickname over many years in the biz. In this era of celebrity chefs, some young cooks toil tirelessly while fueled by dreams of attaining food TV fame — but for Huyke, life is even more exciting now that she has stepped away from the cameras and back into the kitchen.
“I love what I did on TV. But being in restaurants is really all I ever wanted to do,” said Huyke, positively beaming in the dining room of La Fabrica Central, a Spanish-Caribbean restaurant in Cambridge's Central Square that opened at the end of February. For nearly 25 years, Huyke was a household name in Puerto Rico thanks to television shows like the long-running “Cocina con Giovanna.” But a few years ago, after divorcing her husbandproducer, Huyke decided she wanted to get back to her roots behind the line. That, she says, is where she feels most at home.
“I love everything about restaurants,” said Huyke. “I love hearing the sound of silverware being set. I love the look of an empty dining room, full of possibilities. I still get excited when a new ingredient arrives.”
She also gets the rush — and the motivating nerves — of being back to the environment where her passions first flourished. Though Huyke has been a television star, published half a dozen cookbooks and even had her own cookware line, more traditional restaurant work had been on the back burner until relatively recently. The daughter of a cooking instructor, Huyke first started working in restaurants while studying theater at Tulane University — a major that eventually served her TV career. On the strictly culinary side, she cut her teeth under New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme, an icon of modern Cajun and Creole cuisine, and worked at the Big Easy's legendary Lee Barnes Cooking School.
Returning to Puerto Rico, Huyke earned notice for pushing the island's classic cuisine in more modern directions via restaurants like Amadeus. But she said her focus shifted to food TV in large part because it was more amenable to motherhood. Huyke has two children,
Earth Day is Saturday, and Legal Sea Foods is celebrating with a weekend promotion. We are featuring two popular dishes on April 22-23, and donating all proceeds to the Environmental League of Massachusetts, an organization we have partnered with since 1996. An order of the Lobster Spinach Oyster Trio appetizer and/or Linguine & Clams entree supports ELM’s work to combat climate change and protect our land, water and public health.
If you’re unable to join us, we have modified our Linguine & Clams recipe for the home chef.
While the littleneck clams are steaming, add dried linguine to boiling salted water and cook following directions on the box. It should be cooked to al dente.
When pasta is done, drain and reserve cup of pasta water. (This is one of the secrets. Pasta water carries the starch and flavor that will bring this dish together.) When the littleneck clams have opened, add chopped clams and oregano to the pot and cook for 2 minutes. Remove all the hard-shell littleneck clams to a large serving bowl or 6 to each individual dish (around the edge of the dish). Add the al dente pasta to the pot with the chopped clams. Add the pasta water, remaining extra virgin olive oil, cold butter, chopped parsley and, if you like, cheese. (Many people would never put cheese in this dish, but I know many people who love the flavor of pecorino romano with clams.)
Mix all of the ingredients into the pasta as well as you can. Plate the linguine in one large bowl or 4 individual bowls and top with whatever is left behind in the pot. Serves 4 as an entree.
Buon appetito!