Chef Spotlight: Adam Hegsted

This occasional series helps us get to know local chefs.

We’ll learn about where they dine out and who or what inspired them in their culinary careers. Plus, they’ll share a recipe.

Here’s a Q&A with Adam Hegsted, chef and owner of the Eat Good Group of restaurants, including Wandering Table, The Yards Bruncheon and Gilded Unicorn.

What’s your favorite dish to cook at home? Tough one. I like cooking a lot of variety. I think I like cooking street-style tacos or fried chicken the best.

Where do you eat when you eat out? Syringa, Moontime or Bluebird in Coeur d’Alene. Ruins, Sante, Central Food or Casper Fry in Spokane.

Who or what inspired you to become a chef, and how? I think there is a whole generation who were inspired by Thomas Keller. I am one of those, but before that, it was just the love of eating and showing love through food.

What are your go-to ingredients? Fish sauce, Reggiano, cilantro leaves and stems. (Not together.)

What was the first dish a customer ever sent back to you, and how did you handle it? Probably an over-cooked steak. I just felt bad mostly, but kept trying to get it perfect, which eventually I learned is not real. Steak doneness has so many complexities: age of guest, where they were raised, lighting, etc. It’s more about communicating how we cook it to a certain temperature.

What’s a dish you’ve never made but would like to, and why? I don’t think I have perfected bread yet. Just haven’t spent as much time on it as other things.

What dish or ingredient best represents you? Probably the hamburger. It’s a true chameleon. It can be fine dining or fast food, but deep down, just a comfort food.

Wandering Table Deviled Eggs

From Adam Hegsted

I actually came up with this at the Coeur d’Alene Casino for a tailgating cook-off in Post Falls. I thought, “Let’s make breakfast deviled eggs,” and this is how it went. Sweet, salty and unexpected. I don’t particularly like deviled eggs, but I love these.

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup bacon fat

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon apple cider vinaigrette

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring

1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon brown sugar

24 hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half, lengthwise, with yolk removed

Option

Microwave maple and brown sugar for 30 seconds. While heating, whip remaining ingredients, including cooked egg yolks but not cooked egg whites, in a food processor until smooth and light. Drizzle in brown sugar-maple syrup. Place mixture into piping bag. Pipe into cooked egg whites. Top with candied bacon, crispy potato frites and green onion slivers, if desired. Serve with toast.