Chef Brian McCafferty

“Comfortable.”

It took the Matt the Miller’s team six months to come up with that one word. Prior to opening the tavern, the proprietors sat down and tried to come up with one word to fit their concept. “Were we an Irish tavern? A steakhouse?” recalled executive chef Brian McCafferty. “We finally decided we just wanted it to be comfortable.”

The menu at the local grub pubs (now in Dublin and Grandview) is exactly that. While the dishes themselves are based on a lot of fancy French techniques, words like ‘gastrique’ won’t be gracing the menu anytime soon.

With 26 beers on tap, the task of selecting ingredients for the daily beer cheese soup is a tasty dance of trial and error. “Hoppy IPAs have a sweetness and thickness to them,” described Chef McCafferty. “Malts have bitter and herbal flavors that cook down and intensify – the flavors need to be balanced out.” Constantly changing, the beer cheese soups are patron favorites.

A hearty follow-up to a bowl of soup is the soon-to-be-famous shrimp and grits. Recently winning both the People’s Choice and Grandest Entrée award at the Taste of Grandview event, McCafferty has tweaked the Southern staple with lemon juice, white cheddar and Tasso ham. As Chef speaks, the sound of sautéing shrimp sizzles in the air. “It’s just delicious,” he smiles, oil snap-crackle-popping in the pan. “The grits are unique – they’re not creamy, liquid grits – they’re served more like a polenta-style cake.” One of the highlights of the dish is the flavorful Tasso ham, courtesy of North Country Smokehouse in New Hampshire. As executive chef, McCafferty has the trying job of tasting product after product, looking for the perfect flavors for his creations. The smoke and cure on the North Country Tasso got his attention and the tenderness of the ham sealed the deal.

To prepare such a dish at home, McCafferty suggests sticking with domestic shrimp that has never been frozen, as the shrimp remains meatier and delivers a more satisfying bite. Unlike seafood counterparts such as salmon or tuna, shrimp must be cooked through – no medium-rare shrimp surfing the grits. As the thermometer starts hibernating at the low end of the dial, warming soups and stick-to-your-ribs shrimp and grits are just what the chef ordered.

Shrimp and Grits

Serves 4

White Cheddar Grits
To prepare the grits, preheat a conventional oven to 425 degrees and heat the canola oil in a two-quart saucepan, on high. Add chopped garlic and cook for 30 seconds to one minute, or until garlic has turned light brown. Add chopped shallots and cook for an additional minute, or until shallots have started to sweat. Add white wine to deglaze, and add water, heavy cream and salt. Bring water and cream mixture to a boil, then add grits in a small, steady stream, whisking with a wire whip. Cook for five to eight minutes, or until grits are cooked through and thick. Remove grits from stove and add butter. Stir until smooth.

Grease an 8x8-inch glass baking dish with pan coating and use a rubber spatula to transfer grits, making sure to smooth out the top. Top evenly with shredded white cheddar and place in 425-degree oven for six to eight minutes, or until cheese has melted and just started to brown.

Lemon Cajun Créme with Shrimp and Tasso Ham

In a large sauté pan, heat canola oil on high heat and add minced garlic. Allow to cook for 30 seconds to one minute, or until garlic has turned light brown. Add sliced onions and bell peppers, and sprinkle with a dash of kosher salt. Allow to cook for two to three minutes, or until onions have started to turn brown and peppers have softened. Add shrimp and ham, and cook until shrimp have started to turn pink around the edges (approximately two minutes). Add lemon juice and mirin wine and cook for one minute, or until alcohol has been cooked off. Add heavy cream, kosher salt and Cajun seasoning, and bring to a boil. Continue to cook on high until sauce has reduced and thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon (approximately two minutes).

To plate: Cut baked grits into triangles and arrange two or three per plate. Place four shrimp on top, and spoon sauce over top. Garnish with julienned scallions.

Beer Cheese Soup with Blue Moon, Ham and Brie

Serves 4

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat canola oil and add garlic. Allow to cook for 30 seconds to one minute, or until garlic has turned a light brown color. Add yellow onions, sprinkle with kosher salt and cook for one to two minutes, or until onions turn light brown. Add ham and cook for an additional two minutes. Add potatoes and beer and bring to a boil. Add water and cream and bring to a boil once more. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender. Add brie and nutmeg and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir occasionally to help the brie melt into the soup. Portion into four equal 12 oz. servings and garnish with freshly chopped chives.

Meet the Chef

“The crew there was great – like Jedis,” laughed Brian McCafferty, recalling his first restaurant gig at Damon’s, famous for its ribs and onion loaf. “I was 15 and there was this intensity, this hyper-focus,” he added. “Everyone got on the line and moved in tandem. There was no talking . . . that’s what got me into this.”

As the family chef in a family that didn’t have lots of extra income for fancy fixings, McCafferty learned how to make extraordinary dishes with ordinary ingredients. That creativity, coupled with the addictive intensity of kitchen work, propelled the Gahanna native eastward to the Baltimore International Culinary School to learn the ropes. After working in Baltimore and D.C. for a number of years, McCafferty returned to Ohio’s capital city. When his wife was hired by the Ohio State University, McCafferty set about finding his own gig. After hooking up with the Matt the Miller’s crew via Craigslist, he helped open the first outpost in Dublin and is now overseeing the Grandview operation. Because the space was a new build, the team was able to construct to their exact specifications. “We built this from the ground up,” he said. “We were able to take our concept and make it a reality.” The community has welcomed the neighborhood spot with open arms. Soon, Matt the Miller’s will expand to Indianapolis, bringing its comfort-driven menu to Circle City.

From his humble home-kitchen beginnings, McCafferty has put his creative genius to the test, crafting Matt the Miller’s classic comfort dishes from scratch; the former culinary padawan has become a Jedi himself.