Chef Tom Berry of Downtown Crossing’s Yvonne’s Reveals His Top Dish and Favorite Travel Spot
Q: What dish would you recommend at Yvonne’s?
A: When you come to Yvonne’s, you have to try the tater cubes. We slow cook the potatoes, cut little cubes, and fry them until they’re super golden and crispy. They’re served with joppiesaus, aged Dutch gouda and beet pickled egg. They’re not your average tater tots.
Q: What JetBlue destination would you recommend?
A: My can’t-miss travel destination is San Jose, Costa Rica. Sometimes travel is about the food, other times it’s about getting away from the food. When I’m in Costa Rica, the food is amazing, but it’s also a time for me to decompress and think about new ideas, recharge, and get ready to come back and create for the restaurant.
Q: What are some of your favorite places and activities when you are in Costa Rica?
A: My favorite part of Costa Rica is in the South Pacific Coast area. Uvita and Dominical are sister towns that offer everything: beautiful, quiet beaches, rain forest, national parks, SCUBA, markets, adventure activities, and tons of wildlife. And serenity – lots and lots of serenity.
Q: How has travel impacted you personally, as well as your restaurant and professional life?
A: Travel has been an instrumental part of my development as a chef, and more importantly as a person. It blew my mind to see, smell, hear, and feel how very large and different the world is from our day-to-day “bubble.” We are all human, but our cultural differences and everyday lives vary so wildly—it’s amazing to think we find common ground at all! Personally, experiencing other cultures helped me realize the things I value most here at home (like drip coffee and friendly customer service) and other things I wish we had more of like traditions and national pride. Professionally, being able to taste, touch, and experience food from cultures with long-standing culinary traditions gave my cooking a sense of “authenticity” and allowed me to create dishes based on experience.
Visit Yvonne’s in Boston.
Film By: Tippingpoints Labs
Photography: Melissa Ostrow
This is a paid partnership between The JetBlue Card and Boston Magazine
