Farley Lewis

As the Culinary Arts critic for Thyme Magazine, I had the honor of interviewing Chef Arthur Ordearvé after winning this year’s Big Apple Bake-Off. Here’s the interview.

Chef Arthur, congratulations on your big win. How do you feel?

“Thank you, Farley. I’m very honored, of course. But I won’t be happy until we bring down racism in our nation. It’s a bittersweet victory, to tell you the truth.”

I love your heart. Tell us about the dessert you made that clinched the victory. You were given the assignment to create a dessert using blueberries, and what you came up with was one of the most deeply innovative and intimate desserts New York City has ever seen.

I started with blueberry pie, which, quite honestly, I find passé. I knew that to win, I needed to do something out of the box. Something for the common man. That’s why I chose common ketchup for the sauce.

And not just a dab, you covered it! What was behind that move, Arthur? 

You can call me Art. I believe baking in our society has become “lost in the sauce.” As you know there’s a movement trying to limit our self-expression as chefs. We have Congressmen determined to silence the voice of indigenous chefs. I’m 3% Cherokee Indian, and it breaks my heart. Next thing, they’ll try to push us back onto reservations and demand that we make things that are “pretty” and “tasty.” We’ve got to break with this kind of backward-thinking traditionalism.

Absolutely brilliant, Art. Tell us about the crust. You put dirt in the crust of the pie, wow! The judge called it “an heroic assertion of being and freedom.” Weren’t you concerned with potential health risks? Backlash from the haters?

“Honestly, the dirt-in-the-crust idea came from my favorite college professor. He said, “If we just keep giving people what they want, allowing greedy capitalists to control the baking world, then nothing will ever change.” So I just went for it. “Dirt for dirty money” – that’s what he used to say.”

Some are calling you a “free-thinking creative genius”. I’m even hearing rumors that you’ve been nominated for Thyme Magazine’s Chef of the Year. And speaking of money, do you have plans for how you are going to spend the one million dollar prize, put up by the generosity of the National Endowment for the Tarts?

I want to give back to the educational system that set me free to dream, to push the boundaries. I may even start my own chef school.