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Pushing the Culinary Edge at The Woodward House
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Joseph Lucci, now fully settled in at The Woodward House in Bethlehem, said he isn’t afraid to push the envelope with the dishes he prepares, a message borne out in such offerings as an appetizer of sweetbreads with fig, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, red pearl onion, frisee and apple cider.
LCT magazine sat down with Mr. Lucci on a cold January afternoon at the restaurant, where he has received a warm reception. “Great, great guy—young, energetic, very innovative, easy to work with. The staff loves him, our guests love him,” said owner Adele Johnson. “We’re just very happy with him.”
“I don’t feel like it’s a job. I feel like it’s time to have fun, time to do what I love to do,” said Mr. Lucci. He arrived in June 2010, and focused on getting acclimated.
“In the summer, I slowly started to do some of my things, and in the fall Adele said, ‘Go ahead, do what you want to do.’ Ever since then I’ve been trying to push the envelope, but not too extreme,” said Mr. Lucci. “I’m not going to push something on the clientele that they’re not going to really want.”
In the spirit of being customer friendly, the restaurant offers a prix fixe “Comfort Menu,” menu that represents a great value. Three courses and a complimentary glass of house selected wine is just $28 per person.
“It is upscale but very simple,” said Mr. Lucci of the dishes on that menu, which is offered for dinner Wednesday through Friday and also on Sunday.
On the regular a la-carte menu, Mr. Lucci gets a little more creative.
“I would say one of my most favorite ingredients to work with is foie gras. I think it is very versatile; you can do a lot with it, you can turn it into a mousse or pate or you can sear it,” said Mr. Lucci. The current incarnation is an appetizer of Hudson Valley foie gras with gingersnap, spiced pear, apple puree, rosemary caramel and macadamia nut.
Mr. Lucci changes the menu seasonally. “Normally I will change each menu item three or four times before I submit it to Adele,” he said. “Once I have something I think will work, I will try to envision how it will look on the plate. If it looks good and everything goes well, that is the plate for that season.”
Mr. Lucci’s love of cooking began with his grandmother, who was Italian. “She was always in the kitchen, always [making] big family feasts. I always loved food. I was always running into our kitchen,” he recalled. Continued...
LCT magazine sat down with Mr. Lucci on a cold January afternoon at the restaurant, where he has received a warm reception. “Great, great guy—young, energetic, very innovative, easy to work with. The staff loves him, our guests love him,” said owner Adele Johnson. “We’re just very happy with him.”
“I don’t feel like it’s a job. I feel like it’s time to have fun, time to do what I love to do,” said Mr. Lucci. He arrived in June 2010, and focused on getting acclimated.
“In the summer, I slowly started to do some of my things, and in the fall Adele said, ‘Go ahead, do what you want to do.’ Ever since then I’ve been trying to push the envelope, but not too extreme,” said Mr. Lucci. “I’m not going to push something on the clientele that they’re not going to really want.”
In the spirit of being customer friendly, the restaurant offers a prix fixe “Comfort Menu,” menu that represents a great value. Three courses and a complimentary glass of house selected wine is just $28 per person.
“It is upscale but very simple,” said Mr. Lucci of the dishes on that menu, which is offered for dinner Wednesday through Friday and also on Sunday.
On the regular a la-carte menu, Mr. Lucci gets a little more creative.
“I would say one of my most favorite ingredients to work with is foie gras. I think it is very versatile; you can do a lot with it, you can turn it into a mousse or pate or you can sear it,” said Mr. Lucci. The current incarnation is an appetizer of Hudson Valley foie gras with gingersnap, spiced pear, apple puree, rosemary caramel and macadamia nut.
Mr. Lucci changes the menu seasonally. “Normally I will change each menu item three or four times before I submit it to Adele,” he said. “Once I have something I think will work, I will try to envision how it will look on the plate. If it looks good and everything goes well, that is the plate for that season.”
Mr. Lucci’s love of cooking began with his grandmother, who was Italian. “She was always in the kitchen, always [making] big family feasts. I always loved food. I was always running into our kitchen,” he recalled. Continued...
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By the time he entered high school, his path was clear. “I wanted to cook,” said Mr. Lucci. “I wanted to get a job. I just did not want to become a dish washer, I wanted to go into the kitchen.”
He began his career in cooking at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Malvern, Pa., near the area where he grew up. He worked in the banquet facility for the hotel while learning the basics.
“I worked there all during high school until I graduated in 2005. During my junior year of high school, I had my eyes set on the Culinary Institute of America,” said Mr. Lucci, who was later accepted at the school in the Hudson Valley.
The summer before he left for the CIA, Mr. Lucci worked at General Warren Inne in Malvern, Pa., where he learned classical French techniques.
As part of the associates program at the CIA, students have to complete an externship. Mr. Lucci’s was at Savona in Pennsylvania, a fine dining restaurant that taught him “very modern techniques … . That was in the year 2006, when it was the very modern molecular gastronomy that was going on.”
Mr. Lucci completed his associate’s degree at CIA in 2007, and then returned for a bachelor’s degree, which included having to complete a wine and food seminar. “I went to Napa for a month … . You go to different wineries, different institutions out there, [and] you go to restaurants. It’s a month filled with eating and drinking,” he said.
Following that and completion of his bachelor’s degree in 2009, he recalled, the economy was flagging and nailing down a job wasn’t easy. After a short stint in Boston, he and his girlfriend, Danielle, whom he met while at the CIA and who is from Connecticut, moved to the state.
Mr. Lucci eventually found a job at the Union League Café in New Haven, and worked there for a year. “I learned a lot there. I really developed into a more focused person in this business,” he said.
Prior to graduating from CIA, Mr. Lucci applied to Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, and in December of 2009 he was invited to go there for a week, during which he had the chance to learn more about the molecular gastronomy movement.
He returned to Union League Café and finished the winter there, and in the spring of 2010 got the call from The Woodward House about the chef’s position opening up. Continued...
He began his career in cooking at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Malvern, Pa., near the area where he grew up. He worked in the banquet facility for the hotel while learning the basics.
“I worked there all during high school until I graduated in 2005. During my junior year of high school, I had my eyes set on the Culinary Institute of America,” said Mr. Lucci, who was later accepted at the school in the Hudson Valley.
The summer before he left for the CIA, Mr. Lucci worked at General Warren Inne in Malvern, Pa., where he learned classical French techniques.
As part of the associates program at the CIA, students have to complete an externship. Mr. Lucci’s was at Savona in Pennsylvania, a fine dining restaurant that taught him “very modern techniques … . That was in the year 2006, when it was the very modern molecular gastronomy that was going on.”
Mr. Lucci completed his associate’s degree at CIA in 2007, and then returned for a bachelor’s degree, which included having to complete a wine and food seminar. “I went to Napa for a month … . You go to different wineries, different institutions out there, [and] you go to restaurants. It’s a month filled with eating and drinking,” he said.
Following that and completion of his bachelor’s degree in 2009, he recalled, the economy was flagging and nailing down a job wasn’t easy. After a short stint in Boston, he and his girlfriend, Danielle, whom he met while at the CIA and who is from Connecticut, moved to the state.
Mr. Lucci eventually found a job at the Union League Café in New Haven, and worked there for a year. “I learned a lot there. I really developed into a more focused person in this business,” he said.
Prior to graduating from CIA, Mr. Lucci applied to Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, and in December of 2009 he was invited to go there for a week, during which he had the chance to learn more about the molecular gastronomy movement.
He returned to Union League Café and finished the winter there, and in the spring of 2010 got the call from The Woodward House about the chef’s position opening up. Continued...
“I was getting antsy for something else, just wanted to get more creative. At the same time I got a phone call from [The Woodward House],” said Mr. Lucci.
And now he has his opportunity to create dishes such as an entrée consisting of a mushroom-crusted yellow-fin tuna with cranberry, beluga lentil, fennel and a lobster reduction.
Woodward House is located at 4 On the Green in Bethlehem. For more information call 203-266-6902 and visit www.thewoodwardhouse.com.
And now he has his opportunity to create dishes such as an entrée consisting of a mushroom-crusted yellow-fin tuna with cranberry, beluga lentil, fennel and a lobster reduction.
Woodward House is located at 4 On the Green in Bethlehem. For more information call 203-266-6902 and visit www.thewoodwardhouse.com.
Joseph Lucci, now fully settled in at The Woodward House in Bethlehem, said he isn’t afraid to push the envelope with the dishes he prepares, a message borne out in such offerings as an appetizer of sweetbreads with fig, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, red pearl onion, frisee and apple cider.
LCT magazine sat down with Mr. Lucci on a cold January afternoon at the restaurant, where he has received a warm reception. “Great, great guy—young, energetic, very innovative, easy to work with. The staff loves him, our guests love him,” said owner Adele Johnson. “We’re just very happy with him.”
“I don’t feel like it’s a job. I feel like it’s time to have fun, time to do what I love to do,” said Mr. Lucci. He arrived in June 2010, and focused on getting acclimated.
“In the summer, I slowly started to do some of my things, and in the fall Adele said, ‘Go ahead, do what you want to do.’ Ever since then I’ve been trying to push the envelope, but not too extreme,” said Mr. Lucci. “I’m not going to push something on the clientele that they’re not going to really want.”
In the spirit of being customer friendly, the restaurant offers a prix fixe “Comfort Menu,” menu that represents a great value. Three courses and a complimentary glass of house selected wine is just $28 per person.
“It is upscale but very simple,” said Mr. Lucci of the dishes on that menu, which is offered for dinner Wednesday through Friday and also on Sunday.
On the regular a la-carte menu, Mr. Lucci gets a little more creative.
“I would say one of my most favorite ingredients to work with is foie gras. I think it is very versatile; you can do a lot with it, you can turn it into a mousse or pate or you can sear it,” said Mr. Lucci. The current incarnation is an appetizer of Hudson Valley foie gras with gingersnap, spiced pear, apple puree, rosemary caramel and macadamia nut.
Mr. Lucci changes the menu seasonally. “Normally I will change each menu item three or four times before I submit it to Adele,” he said. “Once I have something I think will work, I will try to envision how it will look on the plate. If it looks good and everything goes well, that is the plate for that season.”
Mr. Lucci’s love of cooking began with his grandmother, who was Italian. “She was always in the kitchen, always [making] big family feasts. I always loved food. I was always running into our kitchen,” he recalled.
By the time he entered high school, his path was clear. “I wanted to cook,” said Mr. Lucci. “I wanted to get a job. I just did not want to become a dish washer, I wanted to go into the kitchen.”
He began his career in cooking at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Malvern, Pa., near the area where he grew up. He worked in the banquet facility for the hotel while learning the basics.
“I worked there all during high school until I graduated in 2005. During my junior year of high school, I had my eyes set on the Culinary Institute of America,” said Mr. Lucci, who was later accepted at the school in the Hudson Valley.
The summer before he left for the CIA, Mr. Lucci worked at General Warren Inne in Malvern, Pa., where he learned classical French techniques.
As part of the associates program at the CIA, students have to complete an externship. Mr. Lucci’s was at Savona in Pennsylvania, a fine dining restaurant that taught him “very modern techniques … . That was in the year 2006, when it was the very modern molecular gastronomy that was going on.”
Mr. Lucci completed his associate’s degree at CIA in 2007, and then returned for a bachelor’s degree, which included having to complete a wine and food seminar. “I went to Napa for a month … . You go to different wineries, different institutions out there, [and] you go to restaurants. It’s a month filled with eating and drinking,” he said.
Following that and completion of his bachelor’s degree in 2009, he recalled, the economy was flagging and nailing down a job wasn’t easy. After a short stint in Boston, he and his girlfriend, Danielle, whom he met while at the CIA and who is from Connecticut, moved to the state.
Mr. Lucci eventually found a job at the Union League Café in New Haven, and worked there for a year. “I learned a lot there. I really developed into a more focused person in this business,” he said.
Prior to graduating from CIA, Mr. Lucci applied to Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, and in December of 2009 he was invited to go there for a week, during which he had the chance to learn more about the molecular gastronomy movement.
He returned to Union League Café and finished the winter there, and in the spring of 2010 got the call from The Woodward House about the chef’s position opening up.
“I was getting antsy for something else, just wanted to get more creative. At the same time I got a phone call from [The Woodward House],” said Mr. Lucci.
And now he has his opportunity to create dishes such as an entrée consisting of a mushroom-crusted yellow-fin tuna with cranberry, beluga lentil, fennel and a lobster reduction.
Woodward House is located at 4 On the Green in Bethlehem. For more information call 203-266-6902 and visit www.thewoodwardhouse.com.
LCT magazine sat down with Mr. Lucci on a cold January afternoon at the restaurant, where he has received a warm reception. “Great, great guy—young, energetic, very innovative, easy to work with. The staff loves him, our guests love him,” said owner Adele Johnson. “We’re just very happy with him.”
“I don’t feel like it’s a job. I feel like it’s time to have fun, time to do what I love to do,” said Mr. Lucci. He arrived in June 2010, and focused on getting acclimated.
“In the summer, I slowly started to do some of my things, and in the fall Adele said, ‘Go ahead, do what you want to do.’ Ever since then I’ve been trying to push the envelope, but not too extreme,” said Mr. Lucci. “I’m not going to push something on the clientele that they’re not going to really want.”
In the spirit of being customer friendly, the restaurant offers a prix fixe “Comfort Menu,” menu that represents a great value. Three courses and a complimentary glass of house selected wine is just $28 per person.
“It is upscale but very simple,” said Mr. Lucci of the dishes on that menu, which is offered for dinner Wednesday through Friday and also on Sunday.
On the regular a la-carte menu, Mr. Lucci gets a little more creative.
“I would say one of my most favorite ingredients to work with is foie gras. I think it is very versatile; you can do a lot with it, you can turn it into a mousse or pate or you can sear it,” said Mr. Lucci. The current incarnation is an appetizer of Hudson Valley foie gras with gingersnap, spiced pear, apple puree, rosemary caramel and macadamia nut.
Mr. Lucci changes the menu seasonally. “Normally I will change each menu item three or four times before I submit it to Adele,” he said. “Once I have something I think will work, I will try to envision how it will look on the plate. If it looks good and everything goes well, that is the plate for that season.”
Mr. Lucci’s love of cooking began with his grandmother, who was Italian. “She was always in the kitchen, always [making] big family feasts. I always loved food. I was always running into our kitchen,” he recalled.
By the time he entered high school, his path was clear. “I wanted to cook,” said Mr. Lucci. “I wanted to get a job. I just did not want to become a dish washer, I wanted to go into the kitchen.”
He began his career in cooking at The Desmond Hotel and Conference Center in Malvern, Pa., near the area where he grew up. He worked in the banquet facility for the hotel while learning the basics.
“I worked there all during high school until I graduated in 2005. During my junior year of high school, I had my eyes set on the Culinary Institute of America,” said Mr. Lucci, who was later accepted at the school in the Hudson Valley.
The summer before he left for the CIA, Mr. Lucci worked at General Warren Inne in Malvern, Pa., where he learned classical French techniques.
As part of the associates program at the CIA, students have to complete an externship. Mr. Lucci’s was at Savona in Pennsylvania, a fine dining restaurant that taught him “very modern techniques … . That was in the year 2006, when it was the very modern molecular gastronomy that was going on.”
Mr. Lucci completed his associate’s degree at CIA in 2007, and then returned for a bachelor’s degree, which included having to complete a wine and food seminar. “I went to Napa for a month … . You go to different wineries, different institutions out there, [and] you go to restaurants. It’s a month filled with eating and drinking,” he said.
Following that and completion of his bachelor’s degree in 2009, he recalled, the economy was flagging and nailing down a job wasn’t easy. After a short stint in Boston, he and his girlfriend, Danielle, whom he met while at the CIA and who is from Connecticut, moved to the state.
Mr. Lucci eventually found a job at the Union League Café in New Haven, and worked there for a year. “I learned a lot there. I really developed into a more focused person in this business,” he said.
Prior to graduating from CIA, Mr. Lucci applied to Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, and in December of 2009 he was invited to go there for a week, during which he had the chance to learn more about the molecular gastronomy movement.
He returned to Union League Café and finished the winter there, and in the spring of 2010 got the call from The Woodward House about the chef’s position opening up.
“I was getting antsy for something else, just wanted to get more creative. At the same time I got a phone call from [The Woodward House],” said Mr. Lucci.
And now he has his opportunity to create dishes such as an entrée consisting of a mushroom-crusted yellow-fin tuna with cranberry, beluga lentil, fennel and a lobster reduction.
Woodward House is located at 4 On the Green in Bethlehem. For more information call 203-266-6902 and visit www.thewoodwardhouse.com.
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