Etch’s Jess Lambert Talks Flavor, Sauces and Menu Creativity

Chef Deb Paquette’s reputation for globally inspired cuisine is complemented by her executive chef Jess Lambert who curates the menus for Paquette’s Etch and Etc. restaurants. And now, Franklin gets to benefit from the duo’s kitchen creations at the Etch location in The Factory.

Etch earns the “Best New Restaurant” title in Williamson’s Best because of its recent entrance into the county — and while some might call that unfair, they’ll just have to go try Etch to understand. Plus, Lambert just won the Nashville Scene’s 16th annual Iron Fork competition during the Music City Food & Wine Festival, so I think the panel of judges would agree.

When I went for dinner, I ordered the octopus and shrimp bruschetta to start, which was apparently the right choice as it’s still Lambert’s favorite today.

“Before I worked at Etch, I went and ate at the chef’s counter. And I had just moved back to town, and I was kind of looking for somewhere to work, and one of my friends was in the front of house at Etch downtown,” Lambert says. “I went to the chef’s counter and had the bruschetta, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s so good. I want to work here.’ And still, to this day, I’m not at all sick of that dish. I can eat that all the time.”

She says it hits all the notes of flavor, and I could not agree with more after my visit. The dish’s saltiness from the bacon and capers perfectly complement the shrimp and octopus that just seems to melt away while chewing the house-made focaccia bread with garlic oil and hummus with additional toppings of manchego cheese, arugula and roasted tomatoes atop.

Lambert says she knows that at their restaurants, they sometimes use ingredients that people might not know. They believe it’s what people come for.

“I think that most of the people that are wanting to eat at a Deb restaurant are expecting some things that they don’t necessarily know what they are, and can be pleasantly surprised by,” she says.

Making menus is really a team effort, Lambert says.

“The sous chefs always help me so much with everything,” she says. “And, it’s also sometimes I forget. Like, did Deb do that? Or did I do that? Because we have such similar styles, we’ll be looking at something from five menus ago, and she’s like, ‘Did you do this? Or did I do this? I can’t tell.’ And I’m like, ‘I honestly have no idea.’”

They have synergy when it comes to creating a new dish or menu.

“I think that’s why we’ve done so well working together for this long. It’s really easy,” she says. “It is hard to find somebody that you can kind of meld with like that.”

The two have been able to create something special in the Etch and Etc. concepts, so much so that they were able to bring another location to life in Franklin. While the location in downtown Nashville can feel very high energy because of the volume of people and tourists, Lambert says that the vibe of the Franklin location feels more like a laid back neighborhood spot you can come and visit anytime while still remaining elevated for a celebration.

That also lends itself to customers who will give more feedback, which she says is good because it helps them figure out what people do want to eat regularly. That’s already playing a factor in the new lunch menu they’ve recently rolled out.

“We’re doing a shrimp and grits dish, which, I mean, we have a vegetarian grits dish on the menu, and everybody always adds shrimp to it, which is great,” she says. “But that is one of those examples of the people in Franklin kind of dictating what we do next. It’s like, ‘oh, everybody really wants shrimp and grits. It’s not overplayed … Great, let’s do a really cool shrimp and grits dish.’ And, that’s what we’re working on now, just using that feedback that we’re getting to try and figure out what people like to eat.”

She says while the vegetarian grits dish previously had a lot more Indian flavor influences, the new dish is going to take more inspiration from cajun and Southern flavor profiles. But that doesn’t mean it’s a typical shrimp and grits dish.

“One of our signature things is a lot of accouterments with everything and sauces and all that kind of stuff. So obviously all of those elements are going to exist on the dish,” she says. “It’s going to be a little more friendly to what people have in their minds when they think about shrimp and grits.”

Their sauces do stand out and make each dish special. On the night I went to try the restaurant, the chef’s special was an outstanding mahi mahi with vegetables and arancini, but the sauces truly made the dish. The arancini was the best part of the meal, so I had to ask Lambert about it. Etch previously had it on the Nashville menu, but they had to take it out of the regular rotation because it was a lot of work to execute night after night.

“It was so much prep for it, and the thing about downtown that is very different is the volume can be overwhelming in comparison,” Lambert says. “I mean, we do sometimes pull it out of the woodwork for [chef specials], for sure. I mean, they’re delicious.”

We laughed as she told me the problem was that they sold better than expected, adding they should have known better with a fried ball of cheese and rice in the South. If that remains true, they better be ready to prepare extra for a new lunch menu item which she described as “a really wacky grilled cheese” which I’m already drooling over.

“I am not a less is more person, by any means, and neither is Deb,” Lambert says. “We try to make food that we think is interesting and fun. I don’t think everything has to be the most serious thing in the world. Sometimes it should be like a fun dish and sometimes you need sauce to liven things up a little bit.

“We try and plate things so you can choose your own sauce level. Like, it’s on the side here and maybe you like this one more than this one, so it’s not all mixed together. I like to let people choose their own adventure a little bit. ... Play with your food.”