DOVER, NH – A local James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur is looking to help other aspiring chefs achieve their dreams through a staging program that culminates in a ticketed tasting menu event.
Evan Hennessey, owner of, and chef at, Stages at One Washington and The Living Room, recently launched Staging at Stages, in which one chef is selected each quarter to work alongside Hennessey, learning how to plan, prep, and execute three dishes that are then presented at a ticketed tasting.
Staging is a form of internship in which aspiring chefs learn and grow in an established chef’s kitchen. Hennessey, a 2014 James Beard semifinalist and a three-time champion on the Food Network competition show “Chopped,” launched the program in November. Its first chef, Alex Lempka, of Saratoga Springs, New York, presented his menu March 9 to a sold-out crowd at Stages at One Washington.
Hennessey created the program because he is “passionate about creating a positive experience in the kitchen and teaching the next generation of great chefs,” according to a news release.
Chefs who are selected commit to a minimum of five days, or more if needed, throughout one quarter of 2024 to learn the ins and outs of what it takes to run a fine dining restaurant, how to develop and execute a multi-course tasting menu, how to interact and explain the courses to the guests, and more. They receive 50% of the profits made on the evening of their menu tasting.
Application to Staging at Stages is free, and open to chefs between the ages of 20 and 30. Only one chef is picked for each quarter. Local and regionally based chefs are encouraged, since housing is not provided, but it’s open to anyone, and so far, applications have come from nearby states, like Maine, as well as Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
Hennessey, a Dover native, graduated from Le Cordon Bleu at the Atlantic Culinary Academy in 2001, and worked at restaurants in New York City and Chicago, before returning home to open Stages at One Washington in 2012, at 1 Washington St., with his brother, Jared Hennessey. It’s a “progressive, menu-less tasting menu experience,” with a focus on sourcing locally, for dishes influenced by and prepared with traditional Scandinavian and Japanese flavors and techniques.
The restaurant features a six-seat chef’s counter, which allows Hennessey and his team to interact with diners and explain the backstory of the dish and the sources of the ingredients.
The Living Room operates under the same roof, and offers cocktails, wine and light bites that showcase some of the same flavors and techniques of the dishes at Stages. It also has an extensive wine list, cocktails, mocktails, and Omakase creations handcrafted by Bernadette James, the in-house certified sommelier.