SONIC DISH: HAMLET & GHOST x DJ TRUMASTR
“If this dish were a track, what would it sound like?”
The evolving modern menu by Executive chef Alex Lempka at Hamlet & Ghost in Saratoga is well known for hyper-local, seasonal ingredients, a strong fermentation program + a collaborative spirit among young line cooks encouraged to craft specials. We paired Chef Lempka with The Dishing’s very own musical force majeur + vinyl connoisseur, DJ TruMastr.
Executive Chef Alex Lempka’s funky ferments often make an appearance on modern plates from hamachi crudo with charred pineapple and a leche de tigre of yogurt and last season’s habanadas to marmite sourdough or skate wings with salted green onion and bloodline garum. As the built-in successor to founding exec. chef Michele Hunter (Exec. chef at new sibling restaurant, Familiar Creature), Lempka continued to expand the in-house fermentation program and a mentoring spirit in the open chef’s kitchen.
We paired Chef Lempka with DJ TruMastr, an internationally touring DJ + producer from Albany, New York, best known for seamlessly blending genres like jazz, junk, hip hop, R&B, and soul. An artist and former museum educator, Truemaster Trimingham also founded Beat*Shot Productions in 2006.
Photo: Alex Lempka
Chef, can you describe the dish?
It’s marinated cherry tomatoes over ricotta—a riff on a dish we’ve run here at Hamlet & Ghost for several years now.
What’s the backstory? It’s our take on a Caprese salad essentially. Tomatoes, some kind of creamy mozzarella-like cheese and basil. We’ve used fresh mozzarella, stracciatella, burrata before and typically have used heirloom tomatoes for this set. This time around I had an odd epiphany to pair lemongrass with tomato. I think my brain went from strawberry and lemongrass, which reminded me of an Alinea dish of strawberry and tomato. With their magic they make the tomato look like a strawberry and vice versa. I tested out the lemongrass marinade with tomatoes and ended up choosing a nice clean ricotta from Lioni Laticini to keep the dish simple and clean. The marinade is a mix of fresh lemongrass, white balsamic vinegar, a syrup we make with the reduced juices from roasted strawberries and sugar, and a paste made from rye koji and fresh strawberries.
The other elements for the dish sort of fell together after that initial test! The tomatoes are allowed to sit in the marinade pre-service to soak up all that flavor and then we plate the marinated tomatoes around a dollop of the ricotta and garnish the dish with some chopped Aisla Craig Onion from Edible Uprising Farm in Troy, the purple basil which came from Lot 32 Flower Farm in Greenwich; urfa chile, fennel Seed, some good olive oil and black sea salt.
Okay, TruMastr, you’ve seen the dish + heard the backstory. What does this dish sound like to you?
The track: “Strawberry Letter 23” by Shuggie Otis. “Strawberry 23” was recorded and released by Shuggie Otis in 1971 for his Freedom Flight album. The Brothers Johnson released their famous funk cover of the song in 1977.
The sound: When I first viewed the image and read the description, my immediate thought was strawberry shortcake. Even though this is a cherry tomato and ricotta dish, the elements are there—it just presents itself in a different way. The song that instantly came to mind was “Strawberry Letter 23.” This well-known classic by The Brothers Johnson, touched with the genius of Quincy Jones in production, is a soulful masterpiece. It carries a warm, ascending feeling of travel. Its crystalline melodies and velvet-red bass lines drape the song like rich curtains. It remains an important piece of my childhood.
The inspo: Later in adulthood, I discovered another version by Shuggie Otis—equally powerful in its own right. As it turns out, his recording is actually the original. I never knew there was another version, let alone one that could stand on equal footing—or even surpass it—in such a distinct way. Where The Brothers Johnson’s interpretation feels lush and soulful, Otis offers a unique marriage of folk, funk, and psychedelic textures.
Both are worth a listen but, to me, “Strawberry Letter 23” by Shuggie Otis—the original—is truly special, while The Brothers Johnson’s take is an amazing spin on a familiar dish.
Listen to Shuggie’s 1971 original track here + The Brothers Johnson 1977 funk remix here.
DJ TRUMASTR is an internationally touring DJ + producer and founder of Beat*Shot Productions. He is known for seamlessly blending genres like jazz, junk, hip hop, R&B, and soul. | IG: @djtrumastr
EXEC. CHEF ALEX LEMPKA is an industry-trained veteran chef from Queensbury, N.Y. who became Executive Chef at Hamlet & Ghost in 2017 after 4 years as sous. He is known for creative, hyper-local, seasonal plates influenced by Japanese fermentation techniques. | IG: @lempka_gram | @hamletandghost
