Q&A with Hanafin’s Chef Tim Mueller

Every St. Patrick’s Day, millions of Irish-Americans—and millions more of us who just love any excuse to drink and eat to excess—cram into pubs, behave outrageously, and toast all sorts of sentiments, profound and absurd.  Isn’t it about time we pay tribute to the chefs who fill our bellies on these occasions with ton after ton of the corned beef and cabbage we so mindlessly devour? 

At in downtown New London, head chef Tim Mueller and his crew prepared more than 500 pounds of corned beef for the masses last night.  Mueller, 28, grew up in Waterford.  He worked for A Thyme to Cook and Gourmet Galley Catering before taking over Hanafin’s kitchen last fall.  Mueller is only one-quarter Irish—his great-grandparents were Sheas from County Kerry—but his passion for great food, Irish or otherwise, runs deep on March 17 and all the other days of the year.  He took a few minutes this week to tell us about it.

In this month’s chef profile, we raise a pint to Tim Mueller of Hanafin’s.

Q1:  If you were to cater a meal for St. Patrick himself, what would you cook?

A:  “If I were to cater a meal for St. Patrick, I would cook stout-braised lamb shanks served with mashed potatoes and warm soda bread.”

Q2:  What’s your best dish at Hanafin’s?  What’s so great about it?

A:  “My favorite item on our menu would have to be the Guinness cream sauce mussels.  The mussels are gently steamed with a little bit of butter, Guinness, heavy cream, and a pinch of thyme, salt, and pepper.  The creamy broth paired with the sweet mussels makes for an awesome combination of flavors.  Enjoy that with a few pieces of buttery toasted bread and a pint of Guinness!”

Q3:  Where did you learn to cook?

A:  “Most of my cooking ability was self-taught, although I did acquire a great deal of cooking knowledge from my mother Kerrie, my wife Victoria, and my previous head chefs at Gourmet Galley—Ivy Mellow and Jennifer Miller.”

Q4:  What chefs inspire you?

A:  “Alton Brown and Anthony Bourdain inspire me a great deal, but chefs such as Thomas Keller and David Chang are truly awe-inspiring.  To have a food-related conversation with either of them would be an honor for me.”

Q5:  What’s your favorite restaurant (besides your own!)?  What’s your favorite dish there?

A:  “My favorite restaurant would have to be in Stonington Borough.  I am a huge fan of their oysters on the half shell, the lobster spring rolls, the seared ahi tuna, and the duck and scallops. Hungry yet?”

Q6:  What’s your fondest food memory?

A:  “My fondest food memory was the first time I tried fried calamari.  On a family vacation to Florida, my parents ordered the calamari and told me they were French fries.  Suspiciously, I ate a few, and they later informed me I had eaten squid.  I really enjoyed that meal, and it taught me to try different foods even if you may not think you’re going to like it.  Subsequently, I am not a picky eater.”

Q7:  What’s your favorite Irish food?

A:  “My favorite Irish food is beef stew, or Guinness stew, served with buttery mashed potatoes. It’s a hearty dish that warms you up, and it’s perfect ammunition for an afternoon nap.”

Q8:  How many pints of Guinness does Hanafin’s serve on St. Patrick’s Day?

A:  “Last year we sold over 25 kegs of Guinness, and that is roughly 2,350 pints.  Over the course of Hanafin’s history [since 2005], the pub has sold well over 100,000 pints of Guinness.”

Q9:  If you were headed for the electric chair tomorrow, what would you eat for your last supper?

A:  “My last meal would definitely be roasted chicken with all of the fixings.  I love roasted chicken so much my wife and I had it as the entrée at our wedding reception.”

Q10:  If you weren’t a chef, what would you do for a living?

A:  “If I wasn’t a chef, I would probably work as a commercial fisherman or charter boat captain. At some point I would love to run my own charter.”

Q11:  What’s your favorite junk food?

A:  “Is Chinese food an acceptable answer?  I have the ability to eat an ungodly amount of Chinese food, usually to my detriment.”

Q12:  If you were invited to compete on “Iron Chef” and the theme ingredient was lamb, what dishes would you prepare?

A:  “I would prepare a mustard-crusted leg of lamb, lamb curry, roasted rack of lamb, and balsamic glazed grilled chops. Unfortunately, this ingredient isn’t all that appropriate for making ice cream, although that hasn’t stopped some chefs...”

Q13:  What cooking tips can you offer to those of us who don’t know an oven mitt from a catcher’s mitt?

A:  “The best advice I can offer aspiring cooks is to get into the kitchen and play around.  You can read all of the cookbooks in the world, but if you don’t try to follow a recipe and physically cook food you will never progress.  Over time you will develop knife skills, flavor profiles, and general kitchen etiquette.”

Q14:  What lessons about life can we learn from corned beef and cabbage?

A:  “Corned beef and cabbage does offer one important life lesson, and that is patience. To cook a corned beef, you basically boil the brisket for an extended period of time until the meat becomes tender, usually between three and four hours. To pull the brisket too early means a tough and stringy cut of beef, and certainly nobody wants that.”