Our interview with Nicholas Gambill from A Single Pebble

We interviewed Chef Nick from A Single Pebble in Burlington! Enjoy!

 Q: What’s your favorite part about being a chef at A Single Pebble?

A: “My favorite part is the learning environment here and the strides I see everyday in personal development. A lot of cooks will go their entire career never learning this cuisine. In my opinion it’s probably the best and most developed cuisine in the world. You know, why chefs don’t ever feel the need to focus on this cuisine…? That’s a whole other conversation. But once you come into the kitchen here, every day is just mind opening and every new thing you learn leads to 20 more questions and 20 different paths you can go down in terms of history, technique, region of China where the dish comes from…When the food and the relationship to it is like that, it creates an atmosphere where everyone is really open. We try to be humble, and accept that this is all new and that a lot of us are coming to this without a background in the cuisine.”

Q: Favorite dish on the menu?

A: “Emperor’s Beef! It’s a Cantonese style dish with really simple ingredients. I think it really speaks to the mission here which is to dedicate ourselves to learning traditional techniques and preparations. Once you achieve that, simple ingredients come together for a really flavorful and complex experience. When it’s done right, coming right off the wok, it’s really unlike anything else.”

 Q: Can you tell me a little known fact about A Single Pebble?

A: “We at all times have running what is probably one of the best chicken stocks in New England. Also, any time you order a soup here, it is created from scratch to order in the span of just a few minutes in the wok. So, every soup is individual to that order!”

Q: When you’re not at A Single Pebble, where’s your favorite place to eat?

A: “Probably on Sundays beyond the avenue tasting the taste, Pizzeria Ida!”