Dominique Romain, Mather Hospital’s new executive chef, lists Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver and Jacques Pepin as his influences. But he says the biggest influence of all was his grandmother, to whom he attributes his passion for cooking. “She once told me, ‘You’ll never find someone to cook you a better meal than family’. That’s what I bring to work with me every day,” Chef Romain said. “I cook as if I’m cooking at home for my wife and my kids.”
His work has included cooking for two former presidents – Bill Clinton in 2011 at a private residence for a fundraiser and George W. Bush in 2013 at a Guggenheim Museum gala.
Born in Montreal, Canada to Haitian immigrants and raised in Cambria Heights, Queens, Chef Romain spent more than 15 years in the bar and bistro industry. He brings with him extensive experience in highly respected restaurant kitchens, including NOBU and Daniel. He also traveled and worked as private chef for families living in New York City, Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands and the West Indies, and for catering companies including the CulinArt Catering Collection at Oceanbléu, Westhampton.
He began at Mather on April 6 in the midst of the pandemic with much of the hospital staff working from home. A challenge, he said, but also an opportunity to “test the waters, so to speak, to introduce things very slowly. So far, I’ve received some nice compliments from the staff, but the best ones come from the patients. I received a note the other day from a patient stating how much they enjoyed their meal and, in particular the glazed carrots. I passed that on to the cooks because they’re the ones who are taking my vision and putting it together.”
Chef Romain says he is still learning about the hospital staff. “I don’t yet know the diversity of the staff. I’ve been trying flavors from different regions such as Asian, Caribbean, Southern Creole and Tex-Mex.” He says his favorite methods of cooking are braising and roasting in the oven. “I want to bring a fun, seasonal menu to the hospital,” he said. “It should be fresh, nutritious and organic. The produce, meats and fish are never cooked from frozen!”
Chef Romain, who lives in Babylon, has been married nine years and has a five-year-old daughter, a 17-year-old stepson and his dog Brooklyann.