WORCESTER—Stephen Champagne always loved to cook, starting with Sunday breakfasts for his parents and helping with all holiday meals as he grew up. It’s no surprise he ended up in the restaurant business.
After acquiring a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and working in that field for a number of years, Champagne switched lanes, and in 1994, went to The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
From there, Champagne, who is from Auburn, worked in local establishments for a number of years and then began his partnership with Niche Hospitality in 2005. With Niche for 19 years now, Champagne is the executive chef and partner of Niche Hospitality Group, which owns and operates Bocado, The Fix and Mezcal.
Champagne spends much of his time as the executive chef at Bocado, which opened in 2006, and expanded very recently.
Most important chef’s tool: My chef’s knives
In your fridge at home: Always a variety of cheese, lots of condiments, a mix of vegetables and fruit
Ever cook for anyone famous? Julia Child attended an event at the cooking school in which our class cooked for her, and then she autographed cookbooks and chatted with us. Brad Stevens of the Celtics frequents Bocado in Wellesley.
Best cooking tip? Pay attention and taste. If you burn something, there is no remedy – most other mishaps can be righted. In a professional kitchen, work as fast as you can to be ready and stay ahead of the curve – getting in the weeds is no fun.
Cooking shows you watch: I like the food shows that feature different locales to see the regional foods and culture of those areas (Old Anthony Bourdain shows, Andrew Zimmern). Also – Beat Bobby Flay is pretty good, too.
Biggest cooking mistake people make: Under seasoning and not tasting their food. Always taste!
Food you cannot stomach: I actually eat just about everything. If there is one item…the texture of uni gets to me a little
Silliest cooking trend: I see a lot of silly things on TikTok – some good but a lot of foolishness
Chefs at the Table is a series in Worcester Guardian profiling Worcester area chefs and cooks. Have someone you’d like to see profiled? Contact Charlene Arsenault at carsenault@theworcesterguardian.org
