Securing adequate production space may be the least sexy facet of a chef’s journey.
But beyond the snazzy graphics and delectable bites we salivating diners see on social media, there is the basic, unending need for a place to hang one’s hat. Or, in this case, kitchen tools.
“I was looking for another project to work on and how to expand the brand in a different way,” says Santana Hem, the chef behind supper club series, Hem & Her. “So, when Mai [Warshafsky] had this idea where I could make my cookies and do this chef residency, it was pretty hard to turn down.”
Warshafsky, who has been at the helm of ICA’s Abby Moore Café since October 2022, says when brainstorming ways to expand the offerings of the café, artist residencies came to mind. “I thought ‘Can we not mirror that? Can we not do something for culinary artists?’”
Like an artist residency, the multi-month chef residency involves a cultural institution forging a relationship with an up-and-coming talent. “We’re sharing resources,” says Warshafsky. “This is an opportunity for an individual in the culinary arts to experiment with their concept and share it with a built-in audience.”
Where the Hem and Her supper club events may feel a bit intimidating or exclusive, the walk-in at-your-leisure, counter-service brunches are meant to feel easily accessible.
There has been one brunch so far, with three more on the docket. The first highlighted everything on the savory and sweet Khmer cuisine spectrum, from crispy spring rolls to delightfully colorful-tart-chewy coconut mango sticky rice crispy treats.
The next, Sunday Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., will feature a similar “handheld delights” menu as the first — think curry tofu lettuce wraps, num pang with slow-roasted pork and pandan peanut blondies.
The Dec. 7 and Feb. 1 Sunday brunches (also 10 a.m.-4 p.m.) will focus on comfort fare, including rice porridge dish buh baw that “we used to have in the morning growing up,” says Hem. There will be meat and vegetarian options, plus a smattering of light sides and sweets.
The grand finale, ticketed event on Saturday March 14 from 5:30-9 p.m. will be a “celebration dinner,” says Warshafsky. “This was obviously Santana’s creative decision, but I also think it’s a nice way to close the series with the way he started [Hem and Her] as a supper club.”
In addition to showcasing his food in a “beautiful space like the ICA and being able to reach a different kind of demographic,” Hem says this chef residency has also allowed him to crank out his supper club dessert specialty, the brown butter black sesame brittle chocolate chip cookie (say that three times fast) that has gained its own kind of cult following.
Hem secured all the proper certifications to operate out of the Abby Moore Cafe this summer and has already started hawking those multi-hyphenate cookies at the cafe, Second Bottle wine shop (owner Erin Keene actually introduced Hem and Warshafsky), Union Market, all Yellow Umbrella locations and more local spots
Warshafsky was more than happy to support Hem as he considered entering the world of consumer packaged goods — before taking on her role at the ICA, Warshafsky ran a very successful mail-order bakery, Café Warshafsky, for nearly a decade.
“When I thought back about why I was able to make these jumps [as a small business owner with Cafe Warshafsky] it’s because I had people in my community who shared resources with me,” she says. “It helped propel me forward, and that’s something I wanted to build into the chef residency program that I think is integral to its success.”
You can visit the ICA’s Abby Moore Café Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
