Chef Andy Teixeira Takes No Prisoners

A Culinary Pirate Heads up the Kitchen at Newport Vineyards

As executive chef of the four kitchens at Newport Vineyards— overseeing Brix restaurant, a catering program, an outdoor dining patio and the brewery café—Andy Teixeira runs a tight ship. “Everyone is a culinary grad but me,” he explains, taking a break just before a Wednesday evening dinner rush, “but I’m the head pirate! I run a no-ego kitchen, but someone has to be in charge, and that’s me!”

The pirate theme is appropriate not only for Andy’s signature twirled mustache and tattooed forearms but for his take-no-prisoners spirit as he dives into culinary adventures, trying new flavor combos and creating new dishes from unusual ingredients.

At his previous job, at the Walpole Country Club where he was the head chef for more than 10 years, he wasn’t allowed to express such personal style, either in facial hair or culinary flair.

“Cuisine wasn’t their focus,” he says with a sly smile, “but I turned them on to some things.”

Now, in a building where beer is made on one end (the Taproot) and wine on the other, and where he is surrounded by local farms, Andy tells everyone “how lucky I am.”

“Our ingredients are sourced locally and prepared on the spot,” he emphasizes. “I create a dish and then I choose the wine, because we have a wine for everything. And now, with beer, the possibilities are endless.”

The expansion at Newport Vineyards began three years ago and moved in phases, according to John Nunes, co-owner with his brother Paul. The vineyards themselves have grown from fewer than 10 acres to now 53 acres of planted grapes. The build-out doubled the space of the main winery building, with the Nunes’ goal of “agritainment.”

Every space in the building is used by the public, John points out— for weddings, wine dinners, brewery tastings, tours and now the “showcase restaurant” of Brix, plus the other two eating spots and catering.

The grape harvest at Newport Vineyards starts in early September and the vineyards now produce more than 30,000 cases of wine a year. True to its small-batch, fresh-beer, “got-an-idea” format, Taproot’s beers are ever-changing. It has produced 10 styles of beer to date, with more on deck. And Aquidneck Growers Market also has a home here—year-round on Saturday mornings.

When Andy came on board more than two years ago, he looked around and thought, “Here’s this beautiful vineyard and its wine— I felt the food should match it.” Despite the two-hour round-trip commute from his home in Taunton, MA, and the 90 hours a week he now spends at his job, he is thrilled that he doesn’t have people “telling me what to cook and where to shop.”

“We’re very lucky to have Chef Andy running things,” John says. “He’s the most dedicated professional I’ve ever met in the food service industry. Every day is a new adventure for him.”

Andy does unplug once a week, even if it’s only for an hour’s ride on his Harley. And he has a strict gym schedule, with a private trainer— to “keep my powder dry.” (A good thing for pirates!)

Despite his lack of formal training, Andy was only 5 when he began helping his chef/baker father put egg washes on rolls and watching his grandfather, also a chef, cutting up whole fish. His father’s family is Madeiran (he still makes his grandmother’s Portuguese sweet bread rolls), and Andy ran a full-breakfast service at his dad’s eatery from ages 14 to 17, when he began an overnight shift at Joe’s Diner, in Taunton.

“At 43, I’ve worked with great chefs who made me better, taught me how to speak, to wear an apron, to be a professional,” Andy reflects. “So I try to mentor my staff and not be the stereotype of the overwrought chef. We get passionate but there’s no anger or malice.”

Indeed, as he walked through the main kitchen, there was a buzz of busyness but not tenseness, as one person rolled rice and cheese into arancini, another took fresh-baked focaccia out of the oven and still another set aside a huge pot of lobster stock.

“I say to the culinary students, ‘Everyone wants to use tweezers and make swirls on the plate, but can you actually make the crust for a chicken pot pie?’”

Andy teaches them that even sandwiches are not merely assembled under his watch: They smoke the meat, bake the bread and brine and roast the turkey.

While the harvesting is taking place in the vineyards, Andy and his staff act like squirrels, laying things in for the winter. Andy is hoping to jar 800 pounds of tomatoes this year; they’re already done pickling, preserving and fermenting with spring fruits and veggies. He also makes grape jam and other fruit-and-wine jams, and he has even made an Asian plum-pit Riesling vinegar. “I love the fall, with its super-ripe and super-delicious veggies,” Andy says.

Some of the local farms Andy deals with are Greenview Farm, Wishing Stone Farm, Simmons Farm and Garman Farm, the latter just around the corner in Middletown. He works with Garman “on demand,” asking them to plant a certain amount of Tarbais beans, for example, or getting the very first of their tarragon and mustard greens last spring. In addition, his whole kitchen team planted 800 heads of lettuce at Garman, harvested garlic and spread mulch, with their boss working right alongside them.

One more influence on Andy’s cooking (augmenting his own insatiable curiosity) is his wife Emily’s love of baking and their shared love of Latin American cooking. They have two children: daughter Sarena, 17, and son Wade, 9.

“I have a God-given talent and passion for flavor profiles,” Andy says. “I know how to make your palate go on a roller-coaster ride: the sharpness, the roundness, the texture crunches, the vinegar to salivate. I’ve had diners tell me, ‘I just want to keep eating it!’”

And judging by the numbers of diners packing the eating spots at Newport Vineyards, especially on a Saturday when there’s a special event at nearby Newport Polo, they will continue to do so.

Brix Restaurant at Newport Vineyards 909 E. Main Rd. (Rte. 138), Middletown 401.848.5161; NewportVineyards.com

Join us and Gil's Appliances on October 10th in the Thermador demonstration kitchen at Gil's in Bristol to spend some quality time at the stove with Chef Andy! He will take you through the steps to prepare his delicious three-course dinner using local seasonal ingredients. He’ll discuss wines for each course and offer tastings from the vineyard, too! Valuable giveaways from Edible Rhody, Gil's Appliances, and Newport Vineyards will be available for on-site attendees only. Spaces are limited for this special evening so sign up soon!