New Chef Brings Fresh Ideas to The Kitty Knight House

The Historic Kitty Knight House Restaurant in Georgetown, Maryland, is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year, complete with a new chef with fresh ideas and a unique blend of cooking styles.

Georgetown, MD (PRWEB) May 26, 2005 -- The Kitty Knight House Restaurant on Marylands Eastern Shore is celebrating its 250th anniversary this year. Home to a rich history, it is one of the few houses left standing when British troops burned the twin villages of Georgetown and Fredricktown, Maryland during the War of 1812. The residence-turned-restaurant with a commanding view of the Sassafras River harbor has undergone many changes over the last two centuries. This year it also sports a new chef, Randy Pyren.

Pyren has his own rich history. Born in Bowie, Maryland, Pyren enjoyed a stint in the U.S. Navy in the late 80s, followed by Culinary Arts School, and then on to an impressive array of posts, such as Executive Chef at Hemingways Key West Grille and Kitchen Manager at Wolfgang Pucks Grand Café, both in Denver, Colorado. In Colorado he met his wife, Karen, but the call of Marylands Eastern Shore brought the couple home, where they now enjoy a house in the country and a less stressful lifestyle in Kent County, Maryland.

Pyrens unique cooking style and knowledge of seafood has already added interest to the Kitty Knight menu. The fact that hes a Maryland native is particularly important to local clientele, and Pyren intends to get to know them. He likes to do business locally as well, and will use fresh food vendors in the area for local oysters, crabs, fish and in-season vegetables.

Im getting to know the people here and finding out where the fresh markets are," he said. Our main goal is to build a steady clientele, both local and seasonal. People should expect to get good food with great flavors and consistency every time they come here. We want to be considered one of the premier seafood restaurants on the Bay."

Toward that end, Pyren has made some changes to the menu at Kitty Knight. In addition to local favorites, new offerings will include such fare as Onion Crusted Rockfish, Three Peppercorn Mahi-Mahi, and Hawaiian Swordfish, along with an array of steamed seafood, and a tasty crab dip appetizer.

He says his Colorado experience taught him the value of Southwestern style cooking, which he artfully combines with Chesapeake seafood for a combination that has just a little bite. The swordfish addition, one of Pyrens signatures, is one example.

Swordfish is a fine steak fish-sweet and moist-so it combines well with our fresh grilled pineapple salsa," says Pyren. He starts out his salsa by grilling fresh pineapple slices to caramelize the sugars," and combines the fruit with fresh cilantro and jalapenos to round out the flavors. Jalapenos add just the right amount of heat to a sweet salsa without making it overpowering," said Pyren, who also likes to use other chilies and fresh peppercorns to liven up traditional fare.

He will also be adding some cold soups for summer, such as vichyssoise and gazpacho, using fresh local vegetables, which patrons can enjoy on the deck from May through Memorial Day along with other summer fare and weekend live music.

Another change to the menu in keeping with the more customer friendly" atmosphere at Kitty Knight has to do with price.

We used to run specials from our menu on certain days," said General Manager, Sally Rifenburg, But from now on well offer lower cost items in the regular menu. If youre on a budget you wont have to opt for fast food-well have $8.95 to $12.00 menu items to choose from, so you can eat well and enjoy the historic ambience of the Kitty Knight any time."

A new chef with a fresh outlook, a revised menu with new items and traditional favorites, and a shop local" philosophy...three fresh reasons to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Kitty Knight House this summer.

Contact:
Sally Rifenburg
General Manager, Kitty Knight House
(410) 648-5200

###