Chef Brandon Frohne is familiar to many Nashvillians, after having helmed the kitchen at Mason's and making numerous appearances in local and national competitions and on television shows such as the Food Network's Chopped. He's now settled in as the culinary director for Holler & Dash Biscuit House, a fast-casual chain developed by Cracker Barrel. A fifth-generation chef, Frohne developed the menu for the restaurants outside the influence of the parent company, drawing on his experience in kitchens around the Southeast. Let's better know Chef Frohne:
Vital tool: At this stage in life I couldn’t survive without a digital scale, thermometer and my brain. Baking is a science, and you have to be precise with your formulas and factors in your surrounding atmosphere, and also understand the super-cool chemical reactions. I like to call this Biscuit Terroir!Favorite gadget: Immersion Circulator. It’s a fun gadget that allows me to cook different ingredients conveniently in a regulated thermal bath, and allows me to precisely cook things like steak to an exact temperature without ever overcooking. The result is a super delicious, juicy, tender, perfectly cooked piece of meat every time. Oh, it’s so good!
Pantry essential: Ancient grains & seeds like farro, amaranth, kamut, wheatberry, quinoa, hemp and chia. They’re all so tasty, healthy and versatile. We even snuck some on to the new menu at the Eighth Avenue house: Try the Greens & Grains Frittata or the Local Peanut Butter, Banana, and Chia Seed Toast.
Necessary extravagance: Hands down, caviar. I’ve actually become pen pals with other caviar lovers in town who share the same passion for that delicate, salty, pickled roe!
Favorite beverage: I have a “Top 3” list including beverages I love equally and at different times of the day: Pour-over coffee, cold-pressed juice, and a good Dark & Stormy cocktail with spicy ginger beer. Can’t live without them!
Favorite smell: I’ve embraced my inner weirdness, so it would have to be the smell of mustard on a hot buttery biscuit, mmmmmm.
Comfort food: Taking all the inner workings of a Cuban sandwich — the lechon, pickles, mustard and ham — stuffing them into a biscuit, draping it in an uber-rich mornay sauce, and topping it with a sunny egg, lime and cilantro. I call it The Croque Cubano. It’s absolutely magical! A top guilty pleasure for sure.
Inspiration: My banditos: Nolen, Grey and Little Tinky Bluebird. Seeing them smile brings my soul loads of happiness. Also, the Holler & Dash team. It is such a privilege to work with them. Being surrounded by passionate individuals is both contagious and inspiring.
Last meal (ever): I’ve often thought about this question, and it comes down to a sort of ceremonial “kicking of the can.” I’d dress up in my Sunday best and invite everyone I know. It would be this massive family-style feast with all the great things my family would cook when I was growing up: my mom’s cheeseburger pie, Aunt’s Simone’s country fondue, Oma’s chocolate mousse, Dad’s béchamel, Opa’s Semmelknodel, my brother’s Hamburger Helper bunny bread sandwiches, Ocala Style Pancakes (circa 2000), Poor Man’s Stroganoff, Root Beer Floats, biscuits and gravy, and one of my daughter’s "Big Giant Bowl" cakes! All these dishes bring back memories of family gathered around a table, love, and pure joy. I’d wash it all down with a bottle of Montrachet, say my peace, and then kick the can! The best part about being a chef might be the ability to evoke memories and emotions of certain places, times and people — or to create new memories - by cooking and eating great good.
You can try some of Chef Frohne's food at
Holler & Dashin Brentwood and at the recently opened location on Eighth Avenue in Melrose.
