Rebecca Meeker, the chef de cuisine at Congress in Austin, Texas, knows the secret to Joël Robuchon’s famous pommes purée: a lot of butter (the good, French échire variety) and a little bit of potato.
It’s just one of the many things the 30-year-old cook learned when she worked for Robuchon, first in Manhattan and later as part of the opening team for the famed chef’s restaurant in Taipei, Taiwan. Although she enjoyed the travel, she was happy to return to her hometown of Austin in 2010 to open Congress, and plans to stay in the city, near her family, for the foreseeable future.
To combat the summer heat in the heart of Texas, Meeker has perfected her gazpacho recipe for the latest edition of the Sous Chef Series from Williams-Sonoma and Tasting Table. It’s loaded with cucumbers and tomatoes and spiked with sherry vinegar. She serves the soup topped with homemade ricotta cheese, a lily-gilding we heartily endorse.
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