MEET: Chef Dale Hajdasz of PRETTY PIG PROVISIONS
Chef Dale Hajdasz of Pretty Pig Provisions outside The Green Room at No Fun in Troy, his latest pop up space.
Photo credit: Susie Davidson/The Dishing.
Chef Dale Hasdasz moved to the Capital Region and never left. He talks to The Dishing about his pop ups, coffee-cured bacon, Polish ferments + pigs in tutus.
Interview + photos: Susie Davidson Powell
Shoot location: 1. El Dorado Bar (Troy, N.Y.) 2. The Green Room at No Fun (Troy, N.Y.) 3. Whiskey Pickle (Troy, N.Y.)
Tastemaker: Chef Dale Hajdasz
Business: Pretty Pig Provisions | IG: @prettypigprovisions
Hometown: Evans Mills, NY (It’s a small town near Watertown.)
Current city: Cohoes, NY
Personal style: Punk/Work Wear
Listening to: Lip Critic, Mannequin Pussy, Halo Bite
Favorite spirit: Green Chartreuse
Favorite classic cocktail: Negroni
Coffee or tea and what’s your order: Black cold brew or black drip coffee
Biggest industry influence: Chef Mason Hereford (owner of Turkey + The Wolf in Nashville) and, locally, Josh Coletto, chef-owner of Nighthawks in Troy.
Industry trend that should end: The “Instagrammable” BullSh*t. We don't need Bloody Marys with a damn grilled cheese on it.
The Dishing talks with tastemakers in the hospitality industry + trailblazers at the intersection of food, culture + art. Today we’re talking with Chef Dale Hasdasz about his Polish roots, running a full-time pop up business, and how his logo came to him in a dream. Let’s get into it!
Chef, thanks for talking with The Dishing. First, congratulations! You’re about to head off on your honeymoon. Where are you going?
My beloved wife, Leanne, and I are going to France! We are hitting Paris, Lyon (of course), and Marseille. Ever since I was a kid I have dreamt of visiting Europe. France in particular. At the ripe old age of 30 I’m finally making it happen! Haha. I can't wait to try everything that the country has to offer and live out my “No Reservations” sort of fantasy.
We first met during the pandemic when you started selling jars of picked ramps, pickled veg and kimchi under the name Eating With Soup Daddy. How did you get that name and what made you switch to Pretty Pig Provisions?
So when I worked at Nighthawks, I made a delicious soup for family meal and one of my coworkers called me Soup Daddy and it kind of stuck, lol. As I started to take my business more seriously, and got a little bit older, I figured I would change the name to something a little more serious and presentable. I got a tattoo of what would eventually become my logo while also working at Nighthawks and the name just kind of all made sense. The alliteration, the pig wearing a tutu, the art style was all a little more serious but also fun and goofy, like myself [laughs.]
Right, so the Pretty Pig Provisions logo is indeed a pig in a tutu. Who designed it and do you really have it as a tattoo
Yeah, Leah Rap over at Blue Heron in Troy designed it. She has done probably half of my tattoos and I always go to her for my custom work. It's on my right inner bicep. It came to me in a dream one day and I knew I had to get it done [laughs.] When I wanted to make my business more official and use the tattoo for my logo she was more than happy to oblige.
Leah fu*king rules!
Chef Dale Hajdasz outside El Dorado Bar in downtown Troy, NY. Photo credit: Susie Davidson/The Dishing.
When did you start cooking and how did you get into the industry?
I started cooking when I was about 15 or 16. I started at a local diner called Shorty’s Place in my home town that's still around and makes great diner grub! From there I went off to college at SUNY Potsdam and had the odd cooking job around town at local dives and greasy spoons. It was around that time I started to take my cooking seriously. I bought my first knife, and I read up on all the great chefs and techniques, watched every episode of chef table [laughs,] and started doing more experimental things at home. After college I moved to Long Island for like six months with my roommate and cooked at some country club. I learned a lot but my living situation fell apart and I was offered a job in the Adirondacks and made the move back up north. I was back at another bar trying to be fancy, which did teach me a lot, but it didn't really fulfill me. I got a job at the Lake Placid Lodge, which was more of what I wanted to do. I learned a ton about fine dining at this joint and after I left they filmed an episode of Succession there! It was crazy watching that show and recognizing the porch I would drink my morning coffee on!
What brought you to Troy and where did you work?
So I had been to Troy a few times before because one of my best friends lived here. I was kind of in a transitional period in my life and needed to get out of the Adirondacks and my buddy said “Why don't you just move here?” I thought “Why the hell not? I love Troy!” so I applied for a Sous Chef Job at Plumb Oyster Bar in fall 2018 and moved here in December. As they say, the rest is history. This place has felt more like home than anywhere else in my 30 years on this earth.
Chef Dale Hajdasz with his greens and beans in The Green Room behind the bar at No Fun, a music venue in Troy.
Photo: Susie Davidson/The Dishing
You’re a staple at the outdoor Troy farmers market outside No Fun on River Street and you’ve been popping up all over the region, but in April you had just started a recurring week day residency at El Dorado in Troy when they suffered a damaging kitchen fire and had to temporarily close. You’re now at the newly minted Green Room at No Fun - which is literally working in the back of the bar in the venue’s visiting band green room. I know you’re passionate about music. What does it mean for you to have a home inside a music venue?
It was a blessing in disguise I suppose. The El is one of my favorite Troy spots and Benny and I had talked for about a year about making my pop up thing happen at The El as a regular thing. When we finally made it happen it was slow going but your post you put out helped a ton with getting more traffic. I was gutted when they had the fire and had no Idea what the hell I was gonna do. Luckily my friends at No Fun threw me a bone and gave me a new home. It was quite a transition from going from a full kitchen to cooking behind a bar but we have made it work. It was really a blessing in disguise because I go to multiple shows a week there and now i get to do it for a living! All the weird and fun music they book there and I get to see it while doing something I love? A dream come true really haha.
You’re famous for your housemade pickles, kimchi and coffee-cured bacon BTK. Can you describe what’s on the Pretty Pig Provisions menu at The Green Room like the kielbasa and coffee-cured bacon BTK.
So I try to keep a few staple items like the BTK (bacon-tomato-kimchi), the Pastrami Reuben, and the Kielbasa with the purple kraut and grain mustard. Then I try to have another two or three items that are a little more seasonal or whatever I can get my hands on locally and can make work in the space I have at No Fun. Like recently I made greens and beans with Edible Uprising greens and Placid Baker bread, and a smoked mushroom cheese sandwich with Collar City mushrooms and apricot jam.
How do you make your famoous coffee-cured bacon?
I trim the skin and ribs off the belly and keep them to make stock later on. Then I portion it into more manageable sizes. I cover the pieces in a generous helping of the coffee bacon cure and let sit for about a week. Sometimes longer if the piece is bigger. After that I smoke the pieces until just before they start getting too tender to slice. Its a delicate balance.
What are some of your favorite flavors and spices? If you were traveling, which 3 would you bring?
That's such a hard one to answer. I guess, gun to my head, I’d have to pick, MSG, thyme, and pepper. You can make anything good with MSG and thyme is just one of my favorite herbs.
Your heritage is Polish, right? What are your childhood memories of cooking/eating at home or dining out?
I sure am! My favorite meals were when my grandma would make Kielbas and pierogies for holidays. Especially when they got the ones from Hapanowicz bros in Utica. They make the best damn kielbasa! We always had the butter lamb for easter. When we did eat out, I always loved red lobster. I would fight a bear for those biscuits hahahah.
You studied theater at SUNY Potsdam. You previously ran the Albany Beer Garden and helped open The Eleven at Lark Hall music venue. All of these things are both team-oriented and social. Is it hard working solo for yourself?
Eh, its a bit of a blessing and a curse. It was nice to have a team to work and collaborate with. Especially to help with prep work! Now I have to hold myself accountable to make sure everything gets done. At least doing it all myself, I make sure it gets done the way I want it done haha.
You have just launched your own Pretty Pig Provisions hot sauce. What’s it like?
I made a small batch hot sauce in collaboration with my friends at No Fun. It’s got Italian wax peppers, serranos, carrots, onions, garlic, and husk cherries. I got 'em all from Edible Uprising! I tried to make it “white people spicy” so it would make everyone happy but I guess that's all kind of subjective [laughs]. (Ed. note: Pick up a bottle for $8 at The Green Room.)
Where are 3 favorite spots for breakfast, lunch or dinner in the Hudson Valley or Capital Region?
These questions just keep getting harder! Is this an SAT, haha! If I had to pick, in no particular order, Goodnight in Woodstock, Familiar Creature in Toga, Chee Bog in Cohoes. But I would probably have to say Chee Bog takes the number one spot.
You recently did a mushroom dinner at Indian Ladder Farm. How did it go and do you think you’ll do more dinners or open a brick-and-mortar in the future?
It was actually quite a challenge! It needed to be vegan which was way out of my wheel house, haha. I was having nightmares of it all going awry. Luckily it went off without a hitch! Everyone loved it, my buddy Chris Carp from Wizard Burger helped me out, and Avery (Collar City Mushrooms) and Amy (Indian Ladder Farm) got me some last minute ingredients from around the farm to bring it all together. It came out better than I could have ever dreamed it to. I even surprised myself with how well it went, especially because the day before my grandfather had passed away and I was lucky enough to see him before and tell him I was making a Polish dinner. I definitely plan on doing a monthly supper club throughout the winter! My lovely wife is a phenomenal hostess and collaborator who always encourages me to do these kinds of dinners and has much better aesthetic tastes when it comes to pulling them off. Keep an eye out for announcements!
Restaurants and bars have all reported less foot traffic and less of a drinking crowd since 2020 and many offer more pop up collaborations. What do you see as the future for the industry?
Well, to be frank, I have no clue and I feel like nobody else does. Its all uncertain right now, especially in this day and age. I hope that people keep spending their money on good food and entertainment instead of giving their hard earned money to giant corporations. I hope that people keep supporting local so I can achieve my dream of opening my own brick and mortar some day.
Imagine an ideal day or night out. If you could go anywhere with no limits on costs or reservations, where would you go and how would the day or night unfold?
I feel like I’m about to have it happen! My wife and I will wander around Marseille in the south of France. We will have a great coffee and some pastries, visit a museum and go for a swim. We’ll grab some lunch which ideally consists of wine and several cheeses, then head to our dinner reservation at the 3-Michelin star La Petit Nice where we’ll enjoy a multi-course meal of carefully prepared seafood that was harvested fresh that morning. Either that or I would also love a late night with close friends and some 2 a.m. pancakes at Naughters right here in Troy! [Laughs]
How do you manage a work/life balance and what do you do to relax?
I can’t really say i do manage it, but I really enjoy gardening with my dogs running around, watching TV or going to the movies with my wife, going to see some live music, or eating a little bit of mushrooms and going for a bike ride. Nothing quite like listening to some chill music while taking a psilocybin-fueled bike ride on the Erie canal trail.
What’s next? Any new projects or pop ups?
So we plan on changing the hours at The Green Room when I get back from my honeymoon. Tuesdays we’ll do dinner with VCR vortex. Then, we’ll do Wednesday to Friday 11 a.m. -2 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. Once the Troy Farmers Market goes back inside, we’ll also start doing food from 5 - 10 p.m. on Saturdays. But keep an eye out for the Sunday supper club! I'm gonna bring a whole case of French wine back that I am so excited to share! Also, come to the last Second Sunday Market on October 12th! I won't be at the September one because of my honeymoon but its a great market to go to regardless!
Awesome. Thanks for talking to us, Chef! We’re looking forward to all your future pop ups, dinners + supper club plans.
Chef Dale Hajdasz during his Pretty Pig Provisions Sunday pop up at Whiskey Pickle in Troy.
Photo credit: Susie Davidson/The Dishing