Join us at 5:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, August 20, for our Virtual RPAC Cooking Class! Nashville’s Brian Riggenbach is the Chef/Partner of The Mockingbird and a Chopped winner.

Brian was born in Illinois, raised in Naples, Florida and has traveled the world entrenching himself in global cuisines and fine arts. He moved to Nashville from Chicago in 2016 to open The Mockingbird.

Food has always been a central tenant in Brian’s life, from the earliest days of curiosity in picking fresh strawberries to more complex incarnations later on. Beginning at a local restaurant in Florida washing dishes, Brian moved up the ranks gradually until serving at some of Chicago’s best restaurants.

By working closely with the professionals he has met along the way, Brian created an ad hoc university of life. He studied fine wines, foods, techniques and methodology that propelled him to the to where he is today. The underlying chemistry and art of food has driven him to delve into the reasoning, philosophy and soul of food. Along with his interest in food arose a deep and passionate resonance with the fine arts that always shines through in his culinary creations.

Brian studied at Florida State University, independently in Paris and Northern Italy, then formally again at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The connections between the fine arts and cooking arise from a passion to create and share, through color, texture, taste and smell.

Brian had the chance to showcase his skills on Season 24 of the Food Network’s award-winning show “Chopped.” He not only walked away the victor, he also reconnected with long-time friend Maneet Chauhan and the concept for The Mockingbird was born. He’s since been on Food Network’s “Bite Club” where he came out the champ, as well as “Beat Bobby Flay” where he battled viciously, and was also featured on HGTV’s “House Hunters” while him and Mikey searched for their Nashville home!
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You’ll need the following ingredients to follow along with Chef Brian as he prepares the dish:

Coq au vin blanc, with garlicky olive oil mashed potatoes

Yield 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces bacon, diced in lardons

8 each, about 3 pounds chicken thighs, skin on

½ pound carrots, cut diagonally into ½” pieces

2 stalks celery, sliced into ½” pieces

1 large onion, diced

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Tablespoon garlic, chopped

4 sprigs fresh, or 1 teaspoon dry oregano

10 sprigs fresh, or 1 tablespoon dry thyme

2 tablespoons tomato paste

¼ cup Cognac, or good brandy

½ bottle dry white wine, such as white burgundy or sancerre

1 quart homemade or high-quality chicken stock

½ pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced

½ pound frozen pearl onions

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons parsley, roughly chopped

2 pounds waxy potatoes

¼ cup olive oil

6 garlic cloves peeled

½ cup heavy cream

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper