Pippa Taylor, exec chef of Strings, on haggis, offal and the Duchess of York

By Lori Midson Wed., Aug. 1 2012 at 9:01 AM

Categories: Chef and Tell, Midson: Gastronaughty

Continued from page 3

Weirdest thing you've ever eaten: Haggis, a Scottish sausage made inside a sheep's stomach. Ryan and I also ate haggis on our wedding night, and it was divine. It has a distinct, yummy, fatty, irony, peppery flavor that you can't find outside of the U.K. I've never attempted to make it, because the ingredients would be impossible to track down, and I'm sure the original I had in Scotland would be better. We have a black pudding on our English breakfast plate during Sunday brunch that's as close as it gets in Colorado.

Biggest compliment you've ever received: I once made tea sandwiches for Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. She told me they were "lovely" in her perfect English accent. I swooned.

Most humbling moment as a chef: Being a chef is, at its core, a humbling experience. I got into this career almost by accident. I had no training, no knowledge, no skills, but I worked hard and listened to everything I could to make my way in and up. I'm humbled every day by how rare and exceedingly lucky I am to be where I'm at today.

Greatest accomplishment as a chef: I haven't had a greatest accomplishment yet. I mean, I'm only 25. Ask me again in twenty years.

What do you have in the pipeline? Our summer menu was just released, but the fall menu is already forming in my head. Fall ingredients are so amazing. We'll also be doing more wine-pairing dinners in the near future, which is fun and helps me study for my upcoming test. Cooking classes are also in the works.

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