In The Kitchen With Emma Leigh Macdonald
Emma Leigh Macdonald is a chef and writer based in New York. Through the pop up series Mon Petit Canard, co-founded with her husband Rowan Spencer, she brings together food, music and atmosphere. Influenced by French bistro culture and shaped by time spent cooking in Montreal and Paris, her approach to food balances instinct, craft and a sense of gathering around the table. We spoke with Emma about hosting, learning confidence in the kitchen, and the quiet ritual of roasting a chicken in cast iron.
Music, fashion, art and food are part of how you think. How does that sensibility carry into the kitchen?
In the first restaurant kitchen I ever cooked in (Lalou, in Brooklyn, with Chef Jay Wolman), I wasn’t the only one making my first appearance cooking in a professional space. That team was so creative, supportive, and ambitious—it showed me that even though so much in the kitchen comes down to technical skill and focus, everyone’s different backgrounds and sensibilities play a role as well. The different elements of making space to gather (whether at home or in a restaurant) all play a part in how much someone enjoys a meal.
When you host at home, how do you decide what to cook? Do you begin with an ingredient, or with a seasonal flavour you’d like to follow?
If I’m having people over for dinner, I usually start with what’s in season and think from there of something that will look beautiful on the table and—crucially!—not require cooking that’s too involved.
How did your relationship with French cuisine begin, and what continues to draw you to it?
That’s a good question. Growing up I went through a phase of being obsessed with the French Laundry cookbook—but I think that was more because of how each recipe was like a puzzle to dive into and solve (ingredient lists that led to other recipes, etc.). I lived in Montreal for a few years for university, and they have fantastic bistros and a very bistro-inspired culture around eating and going out.
In addition to some formative experiences like those before getting into the kitchen myself, cooking at Early June in Paris was then really what led to French cuisine being so fundamental to the way we now approach MPC.
What helped you feel confident in the kitchen when you were starting out?
I’m lucky to have grown up learning how to cook in an intuitive way — my parents brought me into the fold in the kitchen early on, asking me questions and giving me responsibilities. This definitely helped give me a foundation, and gave me confidence in my instincts.
MPC at Rhodora Brooklyn, Flyer artwork by Ano Chrispin
Mon Petit Canard exists as a pop up. What drew you to that form of hosting and cooking?
Mon Petit Canard (MPC for short) began as a natural point of connection between the way I was working with food and my husband Rowan was working with music—the pop-up began with Rowan creating the soundtrack for a given night and me creating the menu. One day we would love to open a space of our own, but for now the pop-up allows us to learn from so many institutions we admire, to collaborate with friends, and to continue to define our own approach before committing to an address ourselves.
Has working in temporary spaces changed the way you cook at home?
This goes through phases! Sometimes when the MPC calendar is packed, cooking at home suffers for it. But in general, it results in wanting to cook at home in a way that’s really focused on fresh, nourishing ingredients. When we’re cooking in different spaces and eating at friends' restaurants, it becomes extra important for home cooking to feel good.
For an impromptu dinner in a cast iron skillet using simple ingredients, what would you reach for?
One of my favorite ways of using the Hornbeam skillet has actually been to roast a chicken—a ritual that I’m a big fan of, when I can manage to get into the routine. Roasting a chicken in a hot cast iron pan is ideal, and so is having a Sunday roast that then leads to leftovers and stock for the week ahead.
In the UK we’re less accustomed to using cast iron daily. What is your approach to caring for and cleaning your Hornbeam pan?
From my understanding, using the pan in a hot oven is actually good for its seasoning over time. Otherwise, it’s a learning experience for me to take care of cast iron at home—we just make sure to dry it, almost like a rinse with a tiny amount of grapeseed or olive oil after washing and before putting it away.
Mon Petit Canard is coming to Colbo Next Door in March.
Follow @mpc.restaurants for future events.
Read Emma's writing on Food, Art and Architecture for Cultured Magazine