Crispy Celery Hearts

When Derek Bissonnette was 16 he landed his first kitchen gig, at a bakery in Searsport, Maine. He went on to study baking and pastry at the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 2000. He got hired as the pastry chef at Kennebunk’s estimable White Barn Inn, jumped to the renowned Inn at Little Washington in rural Virginia, and then joined the kitchen at an elegant English countryside hotel, The Summer Lodge Country House Hotel and Spa. In 2009, he returned to Maine and the White Barn. In 2015, he was promoted to executive chef. After Bissonnette took over the White Barn kitchen, he started toting a camera to work to create a visual record of dishes he and his staff came up with. Photography clicked with him. “Making food look great is something I’ve always strived for,” he says. “To do that through a fresh medium was exciting.” In 2017, he gave up his apron to pursue photography full time. Shortly after leaving the White Barn, Derek partnered with Cider Mill Press and Countryman Press to create five cook books: The Ultimate Books of Soups and Stews: Signed by the author Dumplings: Over 100 Recipes from the Heart of China to the Coasts of Italy The Maine Farm Table Cookbook: Signed by the author Soups: Over 100 Soups, Stews and Chowders On Board: Inspiration Ideas and Recipes for Exceptional Entertaining