PERFECT PAIRING
Legendary chef Shire, son Pineda talk about sharing culinary passion ... and work duties at Scampo
When Alex Pineda was just 7 years old, his mother gave him a surprising Christmas present: a big, sharp kitchen knife.
She also encouraged him to play with fire.
Don't get too concerned. Pineda's mother happens to be Lydia Shire, one of Boston's most influential chefs and a toque of national renown. Pineda's knife came with careful lessons on how to safely cut and chop ingredients while they cooked together at home in Weston. And the fire was inside a wood-burning oven at Shire's legendary restaurant Biba.
“My first food memory is making lobster pizza at Biba, standing on a milk crate because I wasn't tall enough to reach the dough on the table,” Pineda said.
He learned to cook at Mom's knee, but today a 28-year-old Pineda towers over Shire inside the kitchen at Scampo, her Italian restaurant inside Boston's Liberty Hotel, which just celebrated its 10-year anniversary — and still serves that now-signature lobster pizza. Pineda is Scampo's executive sous chef, helming the day-to-day at his mother's restaurant alongside executive chef Simon Restrepo.
Shire's legacy is plenty imposing on its own, though, and with Mother's Day on the horizon, the mother-son team reflected on their rare working relationship, their percolating plans for the future — an upcoming bar-restaurant for intimate, artfully presented dinner and drinks — and Pineda's increasing impact on the family business.
“He's really amped up the sex at Scampo,” said Shire, whose husband, Uriel Pineda, Alex's father, is a professional butcher at another nearby restaurant, The Tip Tap Room. Her son came to Scampo from Los Angeles, where he spent time working for Wolfgang Puck, and brought back a jazzy West Coast approach to presentation that embellishes Shire's refined-rustic cookery with more modern edge.
“Plating is one of my strong suits,” said Pineda, of his rep for presentation with flourish. “I like making a plate that makes you want to have sex.”
As birds-and-bees chats go, this is probably an easier one for moms and sons to have.
Pineda, who also recently took over Scampo's pastry program, started with a strong platform from which to grow as a chef.
“It all came from her,” said Pineda, of his early interest in food. As a kid, he'd often start mornings eating one of Shire's famous popovers.
“The butter has to drip down your chin,” the mother and son eagerly explain in unison, unprompted.
At their home, casual Sunday dinners were mul-
ticoursefeastsongoldleafplates.WhenPinedawasstillinelementaryschool,hewasrunninghismom’sfoodathigh-endfoodandwineevents.Hefirsttriedfoiegrasatage10whileaccompanyinghismotheronanepicureanvacationinFrance’sBurgundyregion.
“Hedidn’tknowwhatitwas,”saidachucklingShire,whoencouragedherson’sculinarycuriosity.Tastefirst.Askquestionslater.
Pineda says he never feltsteered toward a cookingcareer, butsimply gravitatedto hisparents’passions.Shire,though, saysshewasearlyto recognizein himthe makingof a futurechef.Hehadthe talent,the charm,the gift of gab — and thenerve.
“Whenhewas9or10,hewasalittleterror!”saidShire,smirking,recallingherson’stendencytoyelp,“You’refired!”atrestaurantstafferswhorubbedhimthewrongway.Mom,ofcourse,reinedhiminappropriately.
“Butsecretly,IguessbecauseI’mabadgirl,too,Ilikedthat,”shesaid,laughing.“Obviouslyhehadtolearnthat’snothowyourunthroughlife.ButIlovedthathehadthatgumption.”
It’sservedhimwell, thoughShiresaysthere’snospecialtreatmentatScampo:“Oncedinnerservicestarts,he’sjustanyothercheftome.”
Ofcourse,she’sstillamom,andlooksforwardtobuildingfutureopportunitiestheycanshareasateam.
“Alexneedstomoveup;weneedanothervenuesohehasroomtogrow,”saidShire,whose“dreamistoopenalittlejewel-boxbar”withornate,hand-washedstemwareforcocktailsandacuratedmenuofinventivelyplated,constantlyrotatingdishes.
DinerswoulddescendonanynewventurefromShire,whosestoriedreputation,earnedoverdecadesintheindustry,certainlyextendswellbeyondtheHub.Butshe’sanespeciallybelovedmatriarchinthelocaldiningscene,havingraisedanentiregenerationofchefswholearnedbyhersideatrestaurantssuchasBibaandSeasons,bothofwhichearnedherJamesBeardawards,theOscarsoffood.She’sbeenapioneerforwomenintheindustry,thefirstfemaleexecutivecheftoopenaluxuryFourSeasonsproperty(inBeverlyHills,Calif.,in1986),andin2001she tookoverBoston’svenerableLocke-Ober,agrandfinedininginstitutionthatwasamen-onlyestablishmentfornearlyacentury.
AsMother’sDayapproaches,Pinedaisproudofthelegacyhismom,whobakedthecakeforhisAugustwedding,hascreated.
“Imeetpeoplewhospeaksohighlyofher,likeshe’stheirmotheraswell,”saidPineda.“Attheendoftheday,she’smymotherandI lovehermorethananythingelseintheworld.
“ButIknowthatsameloveissharedbyalotofpeople.AndIthinkthat’sbeautiful.It’ssomuchofhersuccess.”