Webb's Captain's Table
Located in Mayville, NY at the northern end of Chautauqua Lake, Webb's Captain's Table has been offering fine dining to residents and visitors for three generations.
Edible Spotlight
Appealing to the Rebel Spirit
In the kitchen with Steve and Ellen Gedra of The Black Sheep
Being a “black sheep” myself, I was intrigued by the name of a restaurant people are raving about in Buffalo. If a renegade spirit likewise resonates within you, or if your heart tends to wander off the beaten path, then you’ll feel right at home at The Black Sheep, a west side eatery owned by husband and wife team Steve and Ellen Gedra.
Steve, executive chef, and Ellen, pastry chef, appeal to the rebel soul with surprising daily seasonal specials and intriguing desserts, as they call upon cultural inspiration from near and far.
Steve pairs a love of reading and a sense of adventure with food. “Most of my thoughts about cooking begin with books,” he says. Though he’s worked in restaurants since the age of 13, Steve insists he’s self-taught as a chef. What he does in the kitchen is more about combining fresh ingredients and cultural influences than formal culinary training.
According to Ellen, it’s no surprise that on any given night, there may be something on the menu you’ve never seen or heard of before. “That’s how we roll,” says Steve, who admits to being less of a planner than his wife.
Former owners of Bistro Europa, the couple opened The Black Sheep in August of 2014. A historic building at 367 Connecticut Street is where the duo set up shop, after inspecting close to a dozen
potential sites. The ethnically diverse, up-and-coming Connecticut Street neighborhood shows some signs of gentrification, though it’s primarily home to immigrants from Senegal, Burma and Iraq.
Located in a former piano key manufacturing facility best known for its infamous past as the site of a gangster-style shootout during ‘30s Prohibition, the restaurant includes indoor seating for 65, patio seating for 40, two buildings and four grass-covered city lots. The Gedras have fruit trees growing on one of the lots adjacent to the restaurant.
The Black Sheep has survived growing pains to become a destination eatery in the past few years. Steve describes the day-to-day running of a restaurant with a spouse as “chippy,” yet the Gedras are
definitely in it for the long term. Together for 15 years, nine of those as husband and wife, they know that even in a business with intense stress, each has the same goal in mind: to run a restaurant that stands out for its food.
The Gedras met in Boston in the kitchen at Blu, where Ellen was hired as a pastry chef. They’ve been together since.
Both Steve and Ellen have family members who love to cook. Ellen’s grandmothers were each talented in the kitchen, and she fondly remembers their Sunday dinners. She recalls making a very elaborate Fourth of July cake when she was 13 years old that drew attention. “My mother asked me how I could spend six hours baking and decorating a cake yet didn’t seem to be able to clean my room.”
Steve attributes his interest in becoming a chef to his sister, Jill, a culinary school grad. His father was also a good cook.
On a typical day, Steve arrives at The Black Sheep around 10:30am, having thought the night before about which specials he’ll offer. By 4pm, after some prep and experimentation, the menu is ready for a 5pm opening Wednesday through Saturday. Every day brings new a new menu built around what is seasonally available.
“You have to trust yourself,” Steve says. “I shift gears a lot. That’s what makes a kitchen creative.”
Steve admits to going through phases in the kitchen, and just emerged from a Persian phase. “At one time, the Persian empire covered half the world. Persian flavors are clean, fresh and real: chickpeas, beans, lots of saffron and lemon.” His latest interest, Burmese food, places an emphasis on noodle dishes prepared with coconut broth and hot chili. “I guess I like that crossroads where African and Asian influences meet.”
Ellen plans dessert and pastry a week in advance. “My personal taste is simple: peach pie and strawberry shortcake. I love ice cream, so a seasonal flavor is always on the menu.”
In December, desserts feature apples and pears. January ushers in desserts with an emphasis on citrus. Meyer lemon ice cream is a crowd favorite along with brûléed grapefruit. Ellen also relies upon the jams and jellies she’s preserved from summer for her composed desserts that combine more complex flavors and textures.
Both Ellen and Steve believe in sourcing food locally. And they say their idea of a perfect meal is eating with someone they love. “I like to do it up once in a while, to be treated to a great meal,” Ellen says, “but mac and cheese on the couch with good company is just as good to me.”
Steve says they’ve worked out sharing kitchen duties at home after all these years and split meal prep equally. “We understand teamwork and help each other,” he says. “At home, we tend to cook simple, easy meals because we spend a lot of time in the kitchen at the restaurant: Chinese-style dumplings, chicken souvlaki, Sunday sauce with meatballs and sausage and, yes, meatloaf. If it’s my night to cook, and I’m tired, we order pizza.”
The handmade farm-to-table food they prepare every day and for Sunday brunch at The Black Sheep is what they themselves like to serve friends when they come over for brunch. Eggs Benedict, sticky buns, scones, crepes filled with chocolate and orange, Bloody Marys and Bellinis made with prosecco and peach purée.
“Everything is made from scratch here at home and in the restaurant: bread, scones, crepes. We serve aged pork products, Canadian bacon and farm-fresh eggs for brunch at the restaurant. It’s hard to beat with a Bloody Mary or a vegan drink we’ve invented, orange whip, made with coconut milk to taste like a creamsicle.”
Whether blueberry pancakes, braised pork hash, rabbit with chickpeas in a French onion sauce, or a pierogi with greens and an egg chased down with a rhubarb mimosa or glass of kombucha, brunch may never be quite the same again.
The Gedras were nominated for a James Beard Award in 2017. They prepared Pork Heart Tartare, Cabbage with Fermented Tea Leaves, Fish Mousse and Poached Pears with Beet Mousse and Cherrio en glaze for a team of judges at the James Beard House.
The Gedras introduced Midnight Mass in 2011 at Bistro Europa, where guest chefs prepared a midnight meal every Saturday night. Midnight Mass has since been replaced with Sunday Supper. Guest chefs prepare nostalgic favorites at 6pm on the last Sunday of every month.
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