'Organized chaos': A peek into the life of a chef

The patio

The first time I met Trigg, we sat on a stack of plywood in the backyard of The Peacock Inn, a bed and breakfast he acquired in June 2006. The building has since been gutted, and the only things left are the fire escapes. Trigg sat cross-legged, talking about his work at The Ferry House. He looked tense, hunched over himself with his shoulders raised to his ears, but his body language is not because of anxiety. He had two discs in his neck fused in 1995 after he was hit by a car. Though he is fully recovered, he said it can be difficult for him to spend the entire day on his feet.

He dressed casually, appropriate for a man who divides his time between a kitchen and construction sites. His outfit of worn blue jeans, Vans sneakers and a lightweight long-sleeved shirt was practical, given the potential hazards of his daily life: burns from the stove, scrapes from sheets of wood or slobber from his dog, a Viszla named Stone. We entered the mostly empty Peacock Inn, and I was introduced to Trigg's world.

The office

Trigg has two philosophies for running a business. First of all, simplify. His cookbook, "The Ferry House Cookbook - A Taste of Princeton," is filled with recipes for The Ferry House's French cuisine and employs the motto "keep it simple, keep it fun." Similarly, his rule for restaurant design is "less is more."

Renovations to The Peacock Inn began in March 2007, with Trigg as the head chef, designer, architect and carpenter. When I visited this past October, the floors, walls and ceilings were unfinished, but Trigg could explain how everything down to the showers would look upon completion. The new inn, with 16 guest rooms and two floors of dining, he said, will focus on customer service and the essentials: sleeping, eating and drinking. Citing the style of Miami as a major influence, he explained that he wants to give the inn a contemporary and sleek feel. The dining room, dating to the 1700s, will feature a full bar, a lighted raw bar and a lounge with five-foot-tall glass-blown bamboo shoots that will have water flowing down them like "waterwalls." The petite guest rooms will be "all about the bed and the shower," Trigg added.

His second philosophy is "location, location, location," which he said figured into his planning for the inn. Trigg explained that he expects the small hotel, located on Bayard Lane just north of Nassau Street, will offer Princeton a slice of modernity and cater to University alumni and businessmen holding meetings and conferences. The concept is a departure from the style of The Ferry House, which is characterized by dark-green walls adorned with landscape paintings. The Peacock Inn's contemporary style will also carry over to Trigg's other project, BT Bistro. Trigg explained that he loves the idea of branding his restaurants and wants to spread his personal style across what he and his staff refer to as the "BT Empire."

The family room

Trigg spent only a few months studying computer science at the University of Dayton in 1980 before realizing that college wasn't a good fit. He chose instead to travel the country following the Grateful Dead.

To this day, he idolizes lead guitarist and vocalist Jerry Garcia.

"No rock-and-roll band ever did what Grateful Dead did — they did 70 to 80 shows a year," Trigg said, adding that he probably went to 25 to 45 shows each year as a young adult.

The Grateful Dead gave Trigg an excuse to travel and enjoy life.

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"It was a big scene," he recalled. "A lot of places let you camp there. In Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, I slept for three nights in a sleeping bag on the front lawn."

All good things come to an end, however, and less than a year later Trigg reluctantly complied with his father's wishes and began working at Salomon Brothers, a Wall Street investment bank. He still made time to see Garcia, arranging his schedule so that he could take the occasional weekend off and head to Boston or Atlanta for a show. Six years later, he quit Wall Street for good and began culinary training at what was then known as The Philadelphia Restaurant School.

Trigg last attended a Grateful Dead show two years ago in Las Vegas. These days, he listens to recordings at home while he rests with his dog and plans the BT Empire.

The kitchen

The Ferry House kitchen is small, with three prep stations, a dishwasher and nine men working at a time. The all-male, all-Guatemalan kitchen staff, Trigg said, helped spark his interest in the Latin American-French fusion cuisine that dominates The Ferry House's menu.

"I introduced them to French cooking, and they introduced me to Mexican food," he explained.

Observing Trigg in The Ferry House kitchen is a lesson in management. He comes to the kitchen every day to taste the sauces, check inventory, monitor cleanliness and, above all, remind everyone that he wants them to take charge. Each new hire learns how to prepare everything in Trigg's cookbook, which has become the "kitchen bible," he said.

"French cuisine seems very complicated, but once you do it, it's repetition; add one or two different ingredients to change it a little," he explained. "But these guys are afraid to really try anything new. They stick to the recipe."

Trigg pointed to a man he nicknamed "Senor Juan."

"Juan, he's me, he's the best. I showed him how to make sauce, and he follows it to the T," Trigg said. "He's Mr. Consistent."

The dining room

Trigg explained that he does not like to advertise in print, so he finds new customers through word-of-mouth recommendations and at the 15 to 20 tasting events The Ferry House participates in each year. The Ferry House donates its food and service for these fundraisers, which support nonprofit organizations. Recently, The Ferry House attended a party to support the Mercer County Boys & Girls Club.

At the venue for the event, rectangular tables lined the walls of the dining room, surrounding a medium-sized dance floor. Each restaurant served one or two small appetizers and a dessert, and stations with wine and beer were spread around the room. Trigg's table featured a full autumn display including flowers, squash and risers covered in yellow fabric and brown burlap rather than the simple white cloths used at other tables.

Trigg and members of his kitchen staff prepared crabmeat tacos with avocado salsa and pieces of filet with red pepper hummus and portabella mushrooms. The dishes, smaller versions of Ferry House favorites, were well received by the guests at the party, and Trigg scrambled to keep his table full of food.

All in a day's work in Bobby Trigg's world.