This month, we make our way down to DC to enjoy a meal at Shilling Canning Co whose roots are based in agriculture and the art of canning. We sit down with Chef Reid Shilling to find out how his family legacy led him to bring his restaurant to diners who enjoy his California meets Maryland heritage cuisine. We find out about his culinary journey, the restaurant, and what we should think about enjoying upon our next visit in this month's The Art of the Snack.
ATHLEISURE MAG: When did Shilling Canning Company open and can you tell us the meaning behind the name and can you tell us the history of this family business?
CHEF REID SHILLING: We opened on July 10, 2019. We are coming up on our 6th anniversary. Hard to believe.
My family has seemingly always been on either construction or agriculture of some form. This dates back for as long as I can find in census records. Canning itself dates back to the Napoleonic wars where he offered a reward for for the invention of new food preservation techniques so that he could better feed his troops.
In 1809 that reward was fulfilled, by 1850’s the mason jar was patented, by the late 1800’s Ball started manufacturing them for home use, and in early 1900’s the can was brought onto the scene. This was a game changer for many farmers, as it extended their money making season beyond the growing season. My family was no different as they farmed in Carrol County, Maryland outside of Baltimore.
From 1935-1958 they operated several canning sheds packing under 10 or 12 different labels (Shillbro, Shilling Bros. Canning Company, Bethel Heights (the name of the road on the shed still stands on today) Weller, etc) and they packed for neighboring farms as well. They had really high standards of quality for what they packed, and even went to far as to label the cans “these peas packed fresh from our own farm.”
For me, this resonated. I spent a handful of years operating kitchens in California where I developed relationships with the farmers whose food I served and began to really understand the differences between well grown and raised food vs the quality of commodity grown and raised products . (I still keep contact with a lot of them today and sometimes I’m lucky enough to get their food here). For me, walking through the Santa Monica and Napa farmers markets was really inspirational, and my approach inherently became more “west coast” where I’d walk the market to select the products directly from the farmer, and then write a menu based on what I loved. I knew I wanted to bring that approach, the relationships with local farmers and the high quality food, back to the mid Atlantic where at the time (early 2000’s) that way of cooking was only being done by a handful of chefs. So like my ancestors, I really cared about the ingredients being used so the association between the two was seamless. It is seasonal Maryland/mid Atlantic farmhouse style cooking with California finesse: a blend of my heritage and my career travels.
AM: For those that have yet to dine at this DC restaurant, what is the ambiance of the restaurant in terms of the design?
CHEF RS: The ambiance centers around our copper wood burning oven, and open kitchen. Notes of the Chesapeake sprinkled throughout, marble chef's counter where you can experience our 7 course chef's tasting menu and interact with me and the kitchen team. It’s industrial, but with softer touch pillows, navy blue banquettes, and some appropriately themed artwork. Some replicas of my families cans make an appearance as well as some of the cans we have put up as well.
AM: Can you speak about the background of Chef Reid Shilling, where he trained and kitchens he worked in prior to coming to this restaurant?
CHEF RS: This July marks 27 years in the industry, most all of which occurred in the kitchen. I got a hospitality degree from Florida State University, worked for Hillstone Restaurant Group running the kitchens in some of their flagship properties like Hillstone on Park Avenue, Houston’s on the Santa Monica Farmers Market, Gulfstream in Century City/Beverly Hills and of course Woodmont Grill right here in Bethesda. I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, (where I met Sara, my wife and business partner) and then went on to work for Thomas Keller at Bouchon. I was part of the opening team at The Dabney, and then went on to do some consulting while pushing forward to getting Shilling open.
AM: What is the cuisine that can be enjoyed here?
CHEF RS: We highlight the ingredients of the Chesapeake, with a menu that changes with the seasons (not winter spring summer fall, but Rockfish season, tomato season, peach season, pumpkin season, Maryland blue crab, etc) so the menu is always changing and evolving.
AM: Why is seasonality so important to the menus that are offered here and what are the kinds of ingredients that tend to be on the menu during this time of year?
CHEF RS: Seasonality is so important because the overwhelming amount of ingredients we buy come from local small family farms. Yeah you can get blueberries in the supermarket all year long but that doesn’t mean they are good. Depending on the time of year they can come from any number of countries with minimal focus on the actual quality of the berry and how it’s grown. Our berries come from Annette, a farmer in Waynesboro PA (5 Sisters Fruit Farm) who will only hand pick and sell us fruit with the highest quality. I highlight her fruit with just a little jam (made from her fruit) and some lightly sweetened mascarpone and mint or hyssop from our culinary garden. That’s the difference. Right now we are getting Rockfish caught that morning from the mouth of the Patapsco River, Softshell crabs from Crab Alley Bay, Fava beans from both VA and PA, Black bass from a family that’s been fishing out of west ocean city MD for 5 decades. It’s so exciting because our growing season here in the mid Atlantic is just getting started.
AM: In looking at your Dinner Menu, what are 3 items from your Raw Bar that you suggest?
CHEF RS: We have had Orchard Point Oysters on our menu from when we opened, a great Beginners Oyster as they are mild and sweet because of where they are raised, tucked up in the east bay. Our Tuna Crudo is made with a salsa matcha that utilizes peppers we have preserved from last pepper season and Virginia Peanuts. Don’t miss that.
AM: For Smalls, what do you suggest that we should try?
CHEF RS: Deviled Eggs and our Country Ham Biscuits have become staples for us. Right now I’m loving the Early June Peas. Fireside Farms Sugar Snaps, Path Valley Farms Snow Peas are charred in the wood burning oven and served with hummus, and smoked yogurt. That dish was created by one of our chefs: Andre, and it’s been really popular. Don’t sleep on adding the Elysian Fields Purebred Lamb.
AM: When you're thinking about Mains, what are 3 that we should have in mind when dining with friends and family?
CHEF RS: Our version of Duck L’orange is awesome. The duck comes from La Belle Farms in the Hudson Valley, right now it’s the confit of a leg, and we serve it with glazed beets, and fennel. The Honey Bell Mandarins of course come from CA cause it’s tough to beat. The Rockfish is amazing, with a ragout of Lancaster fava and trout roe for pops of salinity. We brine the fish so the skin gets crispy when it's roasted over the coals. Amish Fried Chicken has been on our menu for 5 plus years and has become a signature item for us. Keep a lookout for more of that.
AM: We love a Tasting Menu and you have a 7- Course that you offer at Chef's Counter. Tell us about it.
CHEF RS: It’s a cross section of what’s best right now. I talk guests through the inspiration of the dish, where the products come from, and give you a really good idea about how intentional all our dishes and pairings are. It’s a personal, fun, and delicious experience.
AM: We find Happy Hour is a great way to know more about a restaurant as well as to enjoy meeting up with friends. What are 3 items you suggest from this menu in terms of bites and a beverage?
CHEF RS: $5 Martinis, $7 Dirty Martinis, and $9 Hogwash - yes, Hogwash. That’s our Applewood Smoked Bacon Fat Washed Bourbon Old Fashioned. Really an amazing cocktail. To eat, any of the sandwiches from our lunchtime concept ampersandwich will do. The Baltimore Pit Beef hits on notes from my childhood growing up in Baltimore. And of course we hand make the Brioche Benne Seed Buns.
AM: What are 3 cocktails that you suggest in terms of one s we should consider to pair with our meals?
CHEF RS: Miguel, our bar director, has done a great job of elevating the bar experience. The Fun and Funky uses cilantro from our culinary garden, the Finksburg Lemonade highlights our mint with Hendrick’s Gin (Finksburg is where the original Shilling Canning Company was) both of these play nice with our food.
AM: Brunch is an important meal for the week! What are 3 items from the Smalls, Mains, and Sides that we should pick the next time we come in to dine?
CHEF RS: The Buttermilk Fried Amish Chicken is our play on chicken and waffles; the Breakfast Burrito I’d put up against anyone’s: our handmade flour tortilla, 8 hour confit pork belly, crispy potatoes (triple cooked like our fries), preserved Fresno, black turtle beans, farm fresh scrambled eggs, fire roasted salsa. It’s not your ordinary burrito. The Vegetable Hash is unique too. It’s all the vegetables of the moment from our partner farms, roasted in the wood burning oven and then dressed with ramp butter I make every spring. A few dashes of our house made hot sauce and 2 poached farm eggs.
AM: Can you talk about the partner farms that you work with and why is it important for Shilling Canning Co to work with them?
CHEF RS: Fireside Farm, Shenendoah Seasonal, Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op, Path Valley Farms, 5 Sisters Fruit Farm, Durgin Orchard, Orchard Point Oysters, Skilligalee Seafood, Autumn Olive Farms, Ovoka Virginia Wagyu, The Farm at Doe Run, Compass Winds Sorghum, just to name a few. It’s a lot harder to source this way but it’s the right way. The quality is better, and most are regenerative in their practices. The food has higher nutritional content and flavor as compared to commodity/mass produced products.
AM: Are there any events coming up that we should know about as we continue into the Summer?
CHEF RS: We have a few fun dinners coming up with our wine and liquor partners (Chandon/Buffalo Trace) as well as Fancy Ranch Amish Fried Chicken)
PHOTO CREDITS | Jennifer Chase
Read the JUN ISSUE #114 of Athleisure Mag and see THE ART OF THE SNACK | Shilling Canning Co in mag.
