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Valentine’s Fare by Chef Ben Vaughn of Grace

Writer Andria Lisle

Photographer Justin Fox Burks

Although there is no delicate way to consume the ribeye served at Grace Restaurant, chef Ben Vaughn avows that the hefty cut makes a perfect meal for Valentine’s Day. 

Nestled snugly against a bed of tender Flora Farms greens, the beef, which hails from Niman Ranch and is grilled medium rare, is topped with a farm-fresh egg cooked sunny side up and a dash of homemade Rioja sauce. It’s sexy, earthy and packed full of flavor—the kind of sustenance Brigitte Bardot’s suitors needed for the cinematic pursuit And God Created Woman.

“Don’t go for the obvious,” Vaughn says of the robust dish.

Grace, which opened last September, is living proof that the chef follows his own advice. 

After blazing a trail at River Oaks in East Memphis, Vaughn set his eye on a Cooper-Young storefront that housed the Sweet Desserterie. With a strict budget and an even tighter deadline, Vaughn and front-of-the-house manager Marshall Sanchez transformed the dark space into a warm yet airy bistro that specializes in high quality farm-to-table food. 

The fare, and Vaughn’s endless creativity, is ever changing, depending on which proteins and vegetables regional vendors have to offer: Apalachicola oysters folded into a sumptuous bread pudding, smoked rack of lamb with fennel gelato on the side, and a B.L.T. salad created with heirloom tomatoes and locally grown lettuce appear on the menu one day and disappear the next. 

If you’re lucky enough to grab a table on a night when the Prince Edward mussels, bathed in a lamb chorizo broth, are available, you’ll find echoes of that dish in the second course, a Colorado rack of lamb served with root vegetables from Downing Hollow Farm in nearby Savannah, Tennessee. 

Each course at Grace equals a building block of flavor, Vaughn explains. 

The next day, the arrival of new ingredients will bring entirely different flavors to the menu. Regular diners revel in the diversity, even as they take comfort in Grace’s one constant—flaky golden brioche, made daily by pastry chef Chris Burbeck. 

Vaughn calls it “relaxed, approachable, Southern- inspired food.” 

An energetic 33-year-old, Vaughn bounds from the stove to the pass, words pouring out a mile a minute as he fine-tunes his special Valentine’s Day “three-and-a-half course meal,” which will begin with an amuse-bouche of seared diver scallops and end with a shared plate of macaroons filled with butter cream and dotted with spatters of warm chocolate ganache. 

“You’ll want to try a lot of little things,” Vaughn says. “Share the food—it’s more romantic that way.”

He pauses to relay the details of one unforgettable February 14, when, on a rare night off, he called several local chefs, including Erling Jensen, Jackson Kramer and Andrew Michael, and asked each friend to create a dinner course. He typed up his own menu and had it waiting in the car for his wife, Audrey. “We ended up eating at five different restaurants,” he recalls. 

It was an extraordinary night for the couple, who originally bonded over duchess potatoes, a staple on the River Oaks menu. 

Of course you don’t have to be a chef to have a memorably romantic meal. 

“If you’re out of your comfort zone, keep it simple,” Vaughn says. “Start off with cheese and charcuterie, which can be one of those building blocks for a great tasting meal. Let your server pair the wine. His recommendations can go a long way, as long as he’s not up selling. Take the chef’s recommendation on the temperature the food should be served. Most meat should be cooked to medium rare—the longer you cook it, the drier it becomes.” 

If you’re cooking at home, Vaughn advises using kosher salt or fleur de sel—both have bigger crystals, which absorb more moisture—to season red meat. After it comes off the grill or out of the broiler, be sure to let it rest before cutting into it. 

“Incorporate other vegetables besides starches,” Vaughn adds, suggesting making an easy gastrique, or classic French wine and sugar reduction, to dress cherry tomatoes or seasonal fruits. 

Don’t forget your presentation. “There’s nothing nicer than a white tablecloth,” Vaughn says, “and nothing worse than scented candles.” 

With business at Grace booming, Vaughn hardly ever finds the time to cook just for Audrey these days. 

“Honestly, with me being in the [restaurant] kitchen six days a week, it just doesn’t happen,” Vaughn admits. “But when it’s slow, we’ll go into the office and balance our plates on our laps. It’s still really romantic.”