Wilmington’s food scene is in a constant, yet genteel, state of flux. The energy that emanates from New York and Philadelphia as well as the pulse from Washington, DC, sandwiches Delaware in the northeast corridor as an almost-there stop along the mid-Atlantic.
No longer an affront to culinary fortitude with an ever-growing battery of chef-charged empowerment, Wilmington and the surroundings are growing a restaurant base. Institutions like Columbus Inn and Harry’s Seafood Grill are now flanked by hard hitters like Domaine Hudson, Chelsea Tavern and Trolley Square’s Piccolina Toscana. In Hockessin, at The House of William and Merry, Chef William Hoffman is honing clean eating to a crafted edge.
A short shot from Wilmington’s center city but light-years from the area’s stoggy culinary ancestry, House of William and Merry resonates with an inspired skill that brightens the menu with an amalgam of shareable, expert constructs and jovial jibs on old school and hipster dishes. This is where area chefs bring their chef friends.
The indefatigable Hoffman whips around the kitchen with all the energy of a giddy kid racing down the stairs on Christmas morning. And there is some truth to that. Hoffman and his wife and business partner, Merry Catanuto, live in the farmhouse-style residence that happens to hold the restaurant on the first and second floors. Hoffman confessed to using the proximity of the kitchen to his residence for his advantage. “I can be down here until midnight. Dinner might be some cheeses” plucked from the restaurant’s surgically precise kept walk-in cooler.
“People forget this is home. This is my home, but we all spend time here. It is the home vibe. It is hard to separate the two. There has to be homey touches.” The feel of the kitchen is that of a household space, albeit a rather large cooking one. The impeccably kept Jade range is Hoffman’s pride.
What drives Hoffman to whittle a niche in Delaware when, say, Philadelphia might be easier targeting? “I pinch myself! I am in Hockessin, Delaware,” said the very animated chef, of staking a claim in an otherwise gentle culinary scene. “I am always thinking about where I am. There are great resources in the Brandywine Valley. A few more restaurants that have the same ideas will take Delaware to a different place. There are some gems here.”
Hoffman speaks of the many farms, butchers and local suppliers that keep the 60-seat restaurant staked. The level of ingredients this very adroit chef handles to prepare for lunch and dinner calls to task local farms like Crow Farm, Woodside Dairy and Spring Thyme Herb Farm. Even the University of Delaware’s farm program ushers produce to the kitchen. Most recently, the Agriculture Program showed up with arugula so flavorfully fresh, it would make even the most committed carnivore alight with verdant envy. The sweetly piquant green landed on the plate with seared foie gras, grilled brioche, shaved white truffles, elderflower blossoms and 30-year-old balsamic.
Chef Hoffman, 36, has been a musician his entire life. “Music has a huge influence on the cooking. Music and food are always very intwined. Radiohead to Miles Davis to James Brown—I love funk; it plays in the kitchen. During the day, we fire up heavy metal to keep things flowing. During service, it is a vibe in the kitchen to keep moving. Cooks bring in their music to influence each other.”
“When we are prepping, I’m a big metal head, it’s pumping. People that know me know how much I love music and I can’t split that up from food.”
“I can’t be serious all the time,” so Hoffman takes to surfing. “Being in tune with nature and the ocean allows you to re-boot and keep in touch with the earth. It’s a respect for nature. You can make better food. You can approach food better. It’s very zen.”
Asking a chef his or her favorite ingredient is as effective at getting a real answer as asking a painter his or her favorite color. Still, Hoffman offered, “I like fancy stuff like foie gras. Recently, it is black garlic from Obis One. We are black garlic addicts,” Hoffman said of the agreeably aromatic bulb. “Truffles and caviar; I integrate world-class ingredients into more rustic and humble dishes and not make them pretentious.”
Inspiration comes from the likes of Thomas Keller. “He is number one for me. In 1996, he was at the peak of his game while I was at school. I’m so proud of him to be the chef from my country. He changed the way people look at food. He’s a perfectionist.” Alice Waters. Ferran Adria. Renee Redzepi. Jean-Louis Palladin. All ranking characters in the cooking universe whose stars continue to burn bright for Hoffman. “Charlie Trotter was a huge cooking influence,” he adds.
And Chef Hoffman is as outspoken about his likes as his dislikes. “Fake gastropubs piss me off! Unlike, say, The Spotted Pig; it is highly driven with technical chefs that are still cooking everything from scratch. And microbrew bars; just because they have 50 beers on tap doesn’t make them good. Saying one thing and not doing what you say sucks. Show respect to your ingredients. Our culture is money driven, less about supporting local farms and quality products.”
Hoffman jokes about his guilty pleasure of pizza, milkshakes and lengua tacos from up the road at Taqueria Morleon, while insisting that first-timers visiting House of William and Merry simply “must try our duck. Been on our menu for three years. Done with a dry-aging, then grilled technique. I love the flavor of grilled duck. And our Manhattan. We make one of the best Manhattans outside of Manhattan. It’s just the way we do it. It’s the love!” Of his approach to the plates, he is clear about “whimsy but with purpose.” His practice of “doubling down” with ingredients by cross-utilizing remnant bits, for example, is the fundamental sincerity of true root-to-stem cooking.
“In Delaware, Hari [Cameron of A(muse.)], Dwain [Kulup of Domaine Hudson] and myself are supporting the from-scratch movement. I want people to recognize Delaware’s chefs as good as anywhere else.”
What’s on the line for this fiercely energized masterly artisan? Where is he going? “I want my James Beard Award. I will keep pushing until I get that.”
Find House of William and Merry at 1336 Old Lancaster Pike in Hockessin, Del.; phone: (302) 234-2255.
- Photos: Jim Berman
