CAMAJE Chef

Good Food Since 1997

Abby's video interview at CAMAJE for turnhere.com

Abigail Hitchcock

Was it the nightly food shopping and then cooking of exotic fare with her dad? (Authentic Indian buffet anyone?) Or her "critiques" at an early age of her mother’s meals (onion-stuffed roasted chicken with herbs and greens fresh from the garden)? Or was it just growing up among the fishing and farming of Long Island’s rural East End (fresh bay scallops, stripers, bluefish, pick-your-own strawberries and farm-stand freshness in season) that inspired Abby Hitchcock’s love of food?

Whatever it was, it took going away to college for Abby to realize how good she had it. In the dorms, friends were unaware that lettuce comes in more than one variety. (There are yellow peppers too?) Transferring to the University of Bristol, in England (not exactly the food capital of the world), Abby was placed in a "self-catering" flat (shop, cook and feed yourself). What joy! While her mates were eating beans on toast, Abby was poking about in the greengrocers and preparing amazing repasts (a New York Brunch or an American Thanksgiving for 12 in a tiny one-room apartment), despite the English kitchenette. Food–cooking it, eating it, researching it–became an all-consuming passion. Oh, by the way, she also earned her BSc–with honours–in botany. Back home, graduate school was Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School (now known as The Institute of Culinary Education). What better way to use a degree in botany?

Abby went on to work at The Tea Box at Takashimaya in New York City, at Vong in London and at the BBC’s Good Food Magazine. She has been a private chef, done a stint at Martha Stewart Living Television and run her own small catering company before settling down at CAMAJE, her restaurant in Greenwich Village, open for 11 years. She received her Sommelier Certification in July 2006. In 2000, Abby started a cooking school that runs from the restaurant. The classes offer the unique experience of learning to cook in a working restaurant kitchen. She also conducts wine tastings and leads tours of various New York City neighborhoods. One of the most popular experiences is One Night Stand where student-chefs work with Abigail to create a meal for friends in the restaurant.

Abby is now in the process of opening "Abigail", a sister restaurant to CAMAJE. A Cafe and Wine Bar offering a similar flare for a cozy, relaxed atmosphere with serious food and drink. It's in Brooklyn's Prospect Heights neighborhood, just steps from the Brooklyn Museum and Botanic Garden, and a couple blocks from the Brooklyn Public Library on Grand Army Plaza, the impressive entrance to gorgeous Prospect Park.

Abigail • 807 Classon Ave • Prospect Heights Brooklyn, NY • 718-399-3200 • Contact us at info@abigailbrooklyn.com

One of Abby's many side projects has been the launching of "Harvest Cart": Accessible Gourmet sm, or as the recent New York Times article calls it, "Sophisticated Takeout". Abby is the Co-Executive Chef (along with Michael Schwartz) and a founder, bringing her love of all food stuff to a menu that is seasonal, local and organic (where possible). The Times found a "subtle sophistication to the food ... [they] create dishes that are comforting, yet with hints of haute cuisine."

Harvest Cart • 133 Morris Street • Jersey City, NJ 07302 • 201-985-1212 harvestcart.com

Read up on Abby and CAMAJE bistro in the press over the years.

P.S.- Abby Hitchcock and Jason Noble's wedding was held in Bridgehampton on Saturday, September 16, 2006.

CAMAJE • 85 MacDougal Street • New York, NY • 212-673-8184