Private Chef in Saugatuck & Fairfield County, CT

Tonight's Featured Menu

This space is reserved for upcoming featured pages, seasonal menus, tasting flights, and rotating recipe stories. Check back as Chef Robert publishes new offerings throughout the year.

A Brief History of Saugatuck & Fairfield County, CT

Long before Saugatuck became one of the most enviable addresses on the Connecticut coast, it was a working river village — a tidy braid of shipwrights, oystermen, onion farmers, and Italian stone-cutters whose hands shaped the Post Road bridges and dry-stack walls that still line these lanes. The Saugatuck River, slipping quietly into Long Island Sound, was both pantry and highway: schooners loaded with shad, bluefish, and bushels of Norwalk oysters once tied up where waterfront tables now glow at dusk.

Fairfield County's culinary character was forged here, where colonial farmsteads in Easton and Weston met the wharves of Black Rock and South Norwalk. The hills above Westport, Wilton, and New Canaan became dairy and orchard country; the shoreline from Greenwich to Southport supplied the briny half of the table. By the late nineteenth century, the railroad had quietly transformed this corridor into Manhattan's larder and weekend escape — a role it has never relinquished.

What sets the region apart is not nostalgia but continuity. The same families that pulled striped bass from the Sound in 1920 still run boats from Norwalk Harbor today. The farm stands of Easton ripen the same heirloom tomato varieties the WPA cookbooks once cataloged. Stew Leonard's, Wakeman Town Farms, and the weekly Westport Farmers' Market sit a single generation removed from those old onion fields.

That continuity gives a private chef something rare to work with: a community whose palate has been refined by genuine access — to the boats, to the farms, to four real seasons. Saugatuck and the towns around it expect dinner to taste like the place it came from. Chef Robert builds menus that honor exactly that — quietly, locally, and with the ease that only deep familiarity allows.

The Method — Langoustines, Sauce Nantua, Step by Step

Total time on task: approximately 2 hours and 45 minutes. Active time: roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes. Passive simmer and clarification: 1 hour and 15 minutes. Begin three hours before service; the sauce only deepens as it rests at a bare quiver.

Stage One — Crustacean Butter (40 minutes active, 30 minutes passive)

Twist the heads from your langoustines and reserve the tails on ice, lightly salted. In a wide rondeau over medium heat, melt half a pound of butter and add the heads and shells. Press them firmly with a wooden spoon for ten full minutes — you are looking for a deep coral color and the unmistakable, almost-sweet aroma of toasted shellfish. The shells should sing softly, never burn.

Add the shallots, leek, fennel, carrot, and garlic. Sweat eight minutes until translucent and glossy, never browned. Pull the rondeau from the flame, pour in the cognac, and return to heat to flame off — the alcohol burns away in a quick blue-orange flash and leaves behind a warm, rounded depth.

Stage Two — Build the Nantua (35 minutes)

Deglaze with the Riesling, scraping every burnished morsel from the pan bottom. Reduce by two-thirds; the kitchen should smell of orchard and ocean. Stir in the tomato paste, toast it for ninety seconds until brick-red and faintly caramelized, then pour in the shellfish stock and the herb sachet. Bring to a whisper of a simmer — never a boil — for thirty-five minutes.

Strain the liquid through a chinois, pressing firmly to extract every drop. Pass it a second time through cheesecloth lined inside the chinois for a flawless, glossy base. You should have roughly three cups of intensely flavored, coral-tinted liquor.

Stage Three — The Cream and the Mount (20 minutes)

Return the strained liquor to a clean saucepan and add the heavy cream. Reduce gently until the sauce coats the back of a wooden spoon and a finger drawn across leaves a clean, defined channel — the classical nappe. This is the moment to taste, adjust, and finish.

Pull from the heat. Whisk in the remaining half pound of cold butter, two tablespoons at a time, until the sauce gleams. Season with fleur de sel, white pepper, a single pinch of cayenne, and three drops of fresh lemon. The finished Nantua should be the color of a Connecticut sunset and just thick enough to drape, not pool.

Stage Four — Cook the Langoustines (8 minutes)

Bring a wide sauté pan with four tablespoons of butter and a half cup of stock to a gentle 180°F. Slip the langoustine tails in, six at a time, and poach for exactly ninety seconds — they should turn from translucent to opaque ivory, the flesh just yielding to the touch. Remove to warm plates immediately.

Plating

Pool three tablespoons of warm Nantua in the center of each pre-warmed coupe bowl. Arrange four langoustine tails like the spokes of a compass. Garnish with a chervil sprig, a single chive baton, and a whisper of fleur de sel. Serve at once, with a chilled glass of the same Riesling used to build the sauce.

Shopping List for Ten Guests — Sourced the Fairfield County Way

The Shellfish

Forty fresh langoustines, sized 10/15 to the pound, are the heart of this menu. In Fairfield County, that means a standing call to Fjord Fish Market in Fairfield for a Wednesday or Thursday airfreight from Scotland or Iceland. If a New York provisioning run is part of the prep day, Fulton Fish Market at Hunts Point will deliver superb whole specimens at dawn. Reserve two pounds of live crayfish (or reserved langoustine shells from your fishmonger) for the sauce — never skip this; it is the dish.

The Dairy & Butter

One full pound of high-fat European-style cultured butter (82% minimum) and a quart of true heavy cream — minimum 36% butterfat, never ultra-pasteurized. Stew Leonard's in Norwalk carries excellent house-brand cream daily, alongside Plugrá and Vermont Creamery butters. The richness of the butter is non-negotiable; everything in Sauce Nantua rests on the finishing mount.

The Vegetables & Aromatics

Two large shallots, four heads of garlic (you will only use four cloves, but keep the heads for fond), one slim leek, one fennel bulb with green fronds, two slender carrots, a small bunch of flat parsley, a sprig bundle of fresh thyme, two bay leaves, and a small bunch of chervil and chive for garnish. Plan a Saturday morning at the Westport Farmers' Market or the Rowayton Farmers' Market for the herbs and the freshest fennel.

The Pantry

Three tablespoons of double-concentrated tomato paste (Mutti is the standard), a small jar of fleur de sel, white peppercorns, a pinch jar of cayenne, two cups of dry Riesling (a Trimbach or a J.J. Prüm Kabinett is ideal — drink the rest), a half cup of VSOP cognac, and one quart of high-quality shellfish or fish stock. If house stock is not on hand, [LOCAL VENDOR — TBD by Chef Robert] can supply a same-day frozen lobster fumet.

The Garnishes & Citrus

Two unwaxed Meyer lemons, a small bunch of chervil, a tiny bunch of chive, and a few micro-greens if your market carries them. Saugatuck Provisions often carries the boutique micro-herbs that finish the plate beautifully. For the bread service that accompanies, plan a small ficelle or a country sourdough — both essential for sweeping the last of the sauce, which guests will absolutely do.

Mise en Place — Utensils, Plating, Silverware & Garnishes

Equipment on the Bench

Two heavy-bottomed copper or tri-ply rondeaux (one for the shells, one held warm for the final mount); a 4-quart saucier for the cream reduction; a wide low-sided sauté pan for poaching the tails; a fine-mesh chinois; a large square of double-thickness cheesecloth; a tamis for the final clarification if you want a glassine finish; a wooden spoon worn smooth from years of use; a small whisk; a Microplane; a citrus reamer; a pair of fish tweezers for plating; and a small cast-iron warming tray to hold the bowls.

Knives & Boards

An eight-inch chef's knife, a paring knife, a flexible boning or fish knife for cleanly twisting the heads, and a single shellfish cracker held in reserve. Two color-coded boards: white for vegetables, blue for shellfish — never cross. Lay them out left-to-right in the order they will be used; a calm bench is a fast bench.

Plating Vessels

Ten shallow white porcelain coupe bowls — Limoges, Bernardaud, or a clean Villeroy & Boch will all read beautifully against the coral sauce. Bowls warmed to 140°F in a low oven for ten minutes before service; cold porcelain murders Sauce Nantua. A tenth, identical bowl held in reserve for any plate that needs to be re-fired.

Silverware & Linen

Per guest: one fish fork (three tines, slightly broader than a salad fork) and one deep-bowl sauce spoon — the sauce spoon is the difference between a merely lovely course and a memorable one. Heavyweight, hemstitched white or oyster linen napkins, eighteen inches square, pressed and folded into a simple flat rectangle to the left of the charger.

Garnish Tray

Set a small wooden garnish tray to the left of the pass holding: one ramekin of fleur de sel, one ramekin of finely cracked white pepper, ten chervil tips at attention in a damp paper towel, ten chive batons cut on a sharp bias, ten Meyer lemon supremes (membrane removed, reserved for the bread course), and one micro-greens cluster per plate if used. Each garnish is placed with tweezers in the final ten seconds before the plate leaves the kitchen — never sooner, never later.

Service Choreography

A designated server or host carries no more than two plates at a time, right hand to right shoulder of the guest, set down with the langoustines pointing toward twelve o'clock. The wine is poured one beat after the plate lands. The kitchen exhales.

What Are the Top Benefits of Hiring a Private Chef in Saugatuck and Fairfield County, CT?

Benefit One — Your Home Becomes a Five-Star Dining Room, Designed for You. A private chef does not arrive with a tray of warmed catering pans; he arrives with a personalized menu, a hand-picked basket from Fjord Fish Market and the Westport Farmers' Market, and a plan to cook entirely in your kitchen. Every prep step, every plate, every cleared dish is handled — you are a guest at your own table. A designated server or host is recommended for parties above six and is essential above ten; a calm, attentive presence in the dining room transforms the evening from "dinner" into something your guests still talk about a year later.

Benefit Two — True Personalization You Cannot Buy from a Caterer. A caterer prepares volume off-site and delivers; a private chef builds an evening around your preferences, allergies, anniversary, and the wine already in your cellar. Provisions sourced that morning from Stew Leonard's in Norwalk, fish pulled the same day from the Sound — the difference is on the plate, and in the time you reclaim. Settle into your recipe below.

Frequently Asked Questions — Private Chef Services in Fairfield County, CT

About Private Chef Robert

Chef Robert's cooking life began the way the best ones do — at his grandmother's stove in North Seattle, then sleeves-rolled at Claire's Pantry in the 1970s, where he started as the head potato peeler and learned, plainly, that respect for ingredients begins at the lowest station. He came of age in the Pacific Northwest, where the Puget Sound, Lake Washington, and the Edmonds waterfront — and a long apprenticeship at the Rusty Pelican — taught him that great cooking is inseparable from its landscape. Pike Place Market was the classroom: salmon, halibut, Dungeness crab, and the shellfish boats from the San Juans, the orchards of Lake Chelan, the dairy of the Skagit Valley.

That foundation carried him east — first as Private Chef for the Doswell Foundation in Dallas, then as Chef-Owner of the Rainier Grill near Mount Rainier, then as Chef Instructor at the Zwilling J.A. Henckels Cooking Studio in Pleasantville, NY, where he taught the techniques he had spent thirty years refining. Dinner events at Wakeman Town Farms in Westport drew him into Fairfield County, and he has been cooking up and down this coast ever since.

Seattle still shapes his palate — the same eco-conscious, ocean-to-table sensibility, the same affection for craft coffee and small-roaster espresso, the same belief that a kitchen should be calm, generous, and quietly excellent. His philosophy is unchanged across forty years: seasonal, local, personal.

To reserve Chef Robert for your home, call 602-370-5255 or email Robert@RobertLGorman.com.

Styles of Service for Private Chef Events & the Role of a Designated Server

The style of service shapes the entire emotional arc of an evening. Chef Robert offers four core formats, each chosen to suit the room, the headcount, and the mood you want your guests to leave with.

Plated à la Russe (formal) — Each course is plated in the kitchen and carried to the table individually. This is the standard for anniversary dinners, engagement dinners, and any evening where the dining room is the stage. It demands a designated server and produces the most refined experience available in a private home.

Family-Style (warm, communal) — Platters of one or two anchor dishes per course are placed at the center of the table, passed by the guests themselves. Ideal for holidays, retirement dinners, and large family birthdays. Slightly less formal, deeply convivial, and a beloved Fairfield County tradition.

Buffet & Stations (entertaining-forward) — Two to four chef-attended stations let guests circulate; perfect for graduations, engagement parties, and corporate gatherings of twenty-plus. A server is essential to manage flow, replenish, and clear quietly.

Tasting Menu / Chef's Counter (intimate) — Six to nine small courses paced for a four to six guest evening, often served from the kitchen island. The closest experience to a Michelin-starred counter, offered inside your own home.

The Designated Server, Host, or Hostess. A dedicated server is what separates a charming dinner from an unforgettable one. The server welcomes guests, manages drinks, paces course service to the rhythm of the conversation, clears unobtrusively, and resets the table between acts. This single role allows the host to remain a guest — the entire reason you hired a private chef in the first place. Chef Robert routinely partners with vetted Fairfield County service staff and will recommend, brief, and direct them on the night of your event so the dining room runs as quietly and beautifully as the kitchen.

Tableware, Linens, Dishware, Silverware & Servingware — A Course-by-Course Summary

The plate, the linen, and the silver are as much a part of the menu as the food itself. For a ten-guest dinner anchored by Langoustines, Sauce Nantua, Chef Robert recommends the following sequence and settings — adjusted, of course, to what your home already holds.

Linens

An ivory or oyster floor-length tablecloth in heavyweight cotton damask or pure linen, pressed the morning of the event. Hemstitched 18-inch napkins to match, folded into a flat rectangle and placed to the left of the charger. A square of natural linen runs down the center as a quiet anchor for the candelabra and floral arrangement. Avoid synthetics — they reflect candlelight badly and feel cold to the hand.

Dishware & Plating Vessels

Use a single porcelain pattern across all courses; Bernardaud, Limoges, Wedgwood, or Villeroy & Boch all read beautifully under candlelight. Charger plates 12 inches in diameter set the architecture. Course plates are scaled within: 7-inch for the amuse, 8-inch coupe bowl for the appetizer and Nantua, 11-inch dinner plate for the main, and a 7-inch dessert plate for the close.

Silverware

A five-piece place setting in a single sterling or silver-plate pattern — Christofle, Ercuis, or a quality American hotel weight. Working from the outside in: salad fork, fish fork, dinner fork, then knife and sauce spoon to the right of the plate. Dessert silver is brought down with the dessert course or laid horizontally above the charger from the start.

Stemware

Three glasses per setting: a white wine, a red, and a water glass — Riedel or Zalto for guests who notice the difference. A coupe or flute is added before dessert if a sweet wine or sparkling is poured. Polish each glass with a clean linen polishing cloth two hours before service.

Course-by-Course Summary

Servingware

Two warmed sauceboats for the Nantua, a polished silver fish platter held in reserve, a chilled marble or porcelain bread tray, two pairs of silver serving tongs, a footed cake stand for the dessert, and a small silver tray for the coffee service. Every piece warmed or chilled to its purpose, every piece polished, every piece deliberate.