Seasonal and regional is in the spotlight at Limelight, thanks to the restaurant’s executive chef DJ Pitts.
“We’re just doing something that is seasonal, regional, prepared well, seasoned well,” says Pitts, 52.
With his background in French, Italian, and Mediterranean cooking, Pitts is also “pulling in different techniques, influences.”
“We have a corn soup on the menu right now. Very simply made. It’s corn purée. We serve that with fermented corn and a little bit of garlic oil. A very simple and straightforward example of what we do with a seasonal ingredient at the height of its freshness.”
Also on his summer menu is a steamed littleneck clams dish. “This dates back to where I come from on the East Coast.
“We’re doing a steamed clams with a mojo verde [sauce]. It’s very bright, punchy. The basis of it is cilantro, jalapeño, and garlic. And it’s got vinegar in there that kind of gives it that punch. I think that, for me, is a personal kind of seasonal item from growing up in Connecticut and having clams in the summertime.”
His grandmother, who was from Russia, was a cooking influence when Pitts was growing up in Waterbury, Connecticut. “She was always cooking three meals a day.”
Watching her cook was “something that held some fascination for me at that point in my life.”
His first “hands-on thing” was making pierogi when he was 10.
“Not only did we have a garden, but my grandmother would go foraging for mushrooms. And, being on the coast, I had the opportunity to go clamming. All these experiences led me to have an interest in a culinary career.”
Pitts often cooked for himself and his brother while his mother, who was a nurse, was at work.
He continued to cook after he moved to Memphis — where his father is from — to major in psychology at University of Memphis. Pitts cooked at functions for his fraternity, Delta Chi. Fried chicken was his specialty — thanks to his other grandmother, who was from Memphis. She cooked “more Southern staples: fried chicken, greens, spaghetti.”
Pitts changed his career path after his brother died. “I wanted to find something that not only could I make a career out of, but also felt passionately about.”
He enrolled at New York City’s Institute of Culinary Education. “When I got there I started to excel at it pretty quickly. And that pretty much reinforced that I made the right decision.”
Pitts went on to work in New York for 10 years. Chef Michael Romano at Union Square Cafe was one of his biggest influences.
In 2005, Pitts opened his own restaurant, 626 Douglas, in Wichita, Kansas, where he served “new American regional farm-to-table” cuisine.
He worked for nine years in Nashville before returning to Memphis, and worked at Catherine & Mary’s and Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen.
In January, Pitts became executive chef at the locally-owned Limelight, where he created the spring and summer menus. “They have a seasonal tree in the middle of the dining room. And when that tree changes, that menu changes. Right now, I think the theme of it is an olive tree.”
Pitts loves cooking seasonally, especially in the summertime. “I think this menu is very reflective of that. We have this crostini with spicy eggplant with fresh minced green onion over the top and some saba. Our market salad changes. Right now, it’s heirloom tomato with burrata cheese, compressed celery, and some nice bottarga for a little savory note.
“I try to bring in more things and feature different things. We do have a small footprint, so our menu has to be tighter and more well thought out.”
Pitts takes advantage of the little herb garden in front of Limelight. When they conceptualized the Germantown restaurant, the owners wanted Limelight to have “that farmhouse feel. It’s easy to take that vibe and make it reflective of the menu.”
Limelight is at 7724 Poplar Pike.