Chef Roble Dishes on Cooking with John Legend and Chrissy Teigen and the Best Pre-Award Show Meals

By Kameron Mack

February 22, 2015 / 10:00 AM

If you have ever spent a summer in New York City, than you know one of the best places for amazing food, dope music and a-list celebs is at celebrity chef, Chef Roblé's Everyday People brunch. When he is not being the life of a turnt event, Roblé is busy in the kitchen cooking for the elite, including Leonardo DiCaprio, John Legend, Chrissy Teigen, and even President Barak Obama.

We chatted the star of Bravo's Chef Roblé & Co. about working with A-listers, the strangest food he has had to cook for a client, pre-award show dishes, and more.

How long does it take to prep a menu for a celebrity’s event?

Chef RobléThere is no average, it depends on what it is. You may have a celebrity that wants to eat leaves, [so] you just get a bunch of greens. You may have somebody that wants you to cook a whole goat for them and that might take two days.

What is the oddest dish you were requested to make?

Blood sausage. That was for Nick Roldan, he’s one of the top two polo players in the world. He’s from Argentina [and] it’s an everyday dish there. It was odd for me because I had to find three gallons of pig blood to make it happen, and that’s not easy to do.

Were you stressed out?

No, I knew we’d figure it out. I have a strong team. I’m not the smartest person on my team, so that’s a good thing.

How involved are the celebrities when you’re creating a menu for them?

They don’t have a lot of time to be a pain in the ass like other clients. Celebrities don’t have time to be particular because they’re busy. There are rich people that aren’t famous that have a little bit more time on their hands. 99.9 percent of rich people are not famous. Those are the bulk of the clients. A lot of them have time to be a pain in the ass. [Celebrities] hire me because they know they don’t have to worry.

They’ll give you more of just a general idea?

Yeah, like last year, we did Chrissy [Teigen] and John [Legend]’s Super Bowl party, they were like, "Do whatever you want as long as we have frito pie and fixings." I’m like, "Cool." That’s what we did and it was an amazing party.

Chrissy is a huge foodie. Have you cooked together or given her any pointers?

Yeah, we’ve cooked together a bunch of times. I taught her and her girlfriends how to make sushi.

Chrissy is famous for her Instagram food porn photos, but check out 12 times Chef Roblé gave us a foodgasm with his own pics.

Chef Roble

Learn more about what it's like to be part of a celebrity team by going behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week with celebrity stylist Law Roach.

[mtvn_player id="1733873" vid="1168285" autoplay="true"]

[Photo Credit: @ChefRoble, @ChrissyTeigen]

How does cooking for the President compare to cooking for some of your other clients?

Everyone gets presidential treatment when you hire Roblé & Co.

What has been your most strenuous task?

Cooking for Bevy Smith. That was the most stressful thing I ever had to do.

How come?

Because I know her, and I know she would tear me a new asshole if I made a mistake, and I love her and I respect her. I had to do like seven courses. There was a flight of stairs and lots of plates. It was very involved.

What are the biggest misconceptions people may have about your job?

It’s not glamourous; it’s dangerous. You get scraped up all the time. A big misconception is that chefs are fat. No, they’re not. All chefs I know are in decent shape.

What’s the most difficult part of your job?

Being on your feet for hours a day. A benefit is that you’ll be in good shape. People ask me, “How do you eat all this stuff and you’re so skinny?” Because I work. Because I do shit. Because I don’t sit around.

Do you travel a lot for your clients?

I travel all the time.

Does that get tiring or is it a perk of the job?

It depends on the person. I never get tired of traveling, I love traveling.

What’s the coolest place you’ve traveled so far?

Copenhagen, Denmark.

What is the best food for watching awards shows?

Junk food. You’re just watching a bunch of junk anyway. Have some chips and dip while you’re watching celebrities on television.

Do celebrities ever come to you for last minute suggestions or meals to prep them for the red carpet?

No, that’s never happened. I think a lot of people just don’t eat before they go on the red carpet.

What’s your favorite dish to make?

Anything saucy. Anything that takes a long time to cook, like a stew or a lamb shank or oxtails. Anything that’s slow, and takes long to cook makes for really good food.

Do you have a new appreciation for reality stars after your Bravo TV show Chef Roblé & Co.?

Yes. I’m not a reality star. I’m a professional chef. When you see me on that show, I’m doing my job. I’m just doing it in front of the camera. I’m not a Real Housewife of Brooklyn or anything. I’m actually doing something. That being said, it’s not as easy as people think it is. There’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes. People are judging you. If I’m an actor and I’m playing a bad guy people will be like, “You did such a good job.” If something happens on reality TV, people are judging you as a person. You have to deal with all of that.

So the cameras definitely add an extra sense of pressure?

For sure. The whole world is judging your life. I can’t imagine being a Real Housewife or something like that.

What’s next for you?

My initial goal was to do daytime television. I’ll be doing daytime television in a major way very soon. I’m developing a fragrance — fragrance making and cooking are very similar. You’re working with lots of edible ingredients when you make a fragrance and you have to balance them out. Kind of like making a sauce. I’ve always loved fragrance. It’s called Clique by Roblé, that’s something I’m really excited about. You’re gonna smell delicious. We have a men’s fragrance in our back pocket. I like women, I grew up around women, I was the only boy. So I take care of the ladies first. Fellas can wait.

Below, Roblé gives us his recipe for his Mixed Green Salad with Herbed Grilled Chicken and Lemon, which makes a great pre-award show dish!

Mixed Green Salad with Herbed Grilled Chicken and Lemon

Serving: 4

Ingredients:

4 ea- 4 oz thin cut chicken cutlets

1 ½ Tbsp- Italian parsley, chopped

½ Tbsp- Fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 Tbsp- Fresh tarragon, chopped

1 Tbsp- Fresh mint, chopped

1 ½ Tbsp- Fresh chives, chopped

4 ea- Handfuls of baby mixed greens

½ ea- Fennel bulb, sliced very thin

½ C- Radishes, cut into quarters

1 ea- Lemon

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method:

In a baking dish or shallow bowl, drizzles the chicken cutlets with the olive oil to coat, add all the herbs, season with salt and pepper and mix together. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

Heat a grill or grill pan (or sauté pan) to medium. Grill the chicken for 3-4 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness of the cutlets. Be sure the chicken is cooked all the way through, you can always remove a piece and cut into it to check for doneness. Remove chicken on to a plate. In a bowl, toss the mixed greens, radish and fennel together to lightly coat with olive oil, squeeze on the juice of half the lemon and season with salt and pepper. Distribute the salad evenly onto four plates and top each with a piece of chicken. Squeeze more fresh lemon juice on the chicken and enjoy!

Note, If you do not have time, you can grill the chicken right after coating with the oil and herbs; it just tastes better if it has time to marinate.

If you do not have a grill or grill pan you can cook the chicken in a sauté pan, just add a little oil to the pan first.

[Photo Credit: @ChefRoble, MAXX Sports & Entertainment, Inc]