Jeni's Table with Ben Porter of Viera on Main

What if we could prioritize our health by cooking healthy, delicious, nutritious meals more often and end up saving time and money in the long run by maximizing what we can make with the food we purchase? Each column in this series will highlight a recipe from one of our local chefs. We’ll purchase what we need to create that dish and then I’ll create another recipe you can make with the ingredients you have left. I won’t add more than three additional ingredients – and most of those will be something you’re likely to have already.

This is an investment in us. So let’s get cooking!

Ben Porter is the creative mind and lead chef behind Viera on Main in Chatham. I talked with Porter about what led him to create the menu for his 155-seat restaurant on beautiful Main Street in the heart of downtown Chatham.

He is a Johnson and Wales graduate, but he graduated on the hospitality/business side, not the culinary side. However, after he found himself working in San Francisco in the early 2000s with some of the biggest-named chefs, Porter had a front row seat to witness the farm to table revolution. With its bold creativity and diversity in food, he realized he was on the wrong side of the restaurant and decided he wanted to be a chef. “I knew I needed to make a change, to be the creator,” said Porter, “but the business background certainly came in handy as I built restaurants.”

When asked what his driving motivation was, he said, “knowing where the food came from”. Over the next several years, he followed his passion and created what have become known as some of Cape Cod’s best restaurants. Porter is deeply focused on local sourcing and scratch cooking. All of his pasta is homemade. He defines his food as coastal cuisine but is heavily influenced by a love of Italian culture and spices. What keeps him engaged? Does he have a favorite dish or type of cooking? “I fall in love over and over again with each new food, new spice, and new flavor. My favorite is what I’m doing at that moment, and each moment I learn something new,” Porter describes. I sat with that answer for a long time. What it said was everything – he allows himself to be present in the creation of the now, of what’s directly in front of him and to bring out its natural beauty, but he’s also open to what’s right around the corner. Each new food, spice, and flavor reignites his passion and allows for a new adventure to begin. Porter believes a big part of his success is that he’s been blessed with an exceptional partner. His wife, Angela, also has a background in restaurant management and helps in the front of the house at Viera on Main whenever possible. Together, they are raising three boys, ages 5, 7, and 10. Their love for food and hospitality is clearly evident in the way they run their restaurant and shows that following your passion can lead to not only success, but also true happiness.