Artfully Done
Executive chef Edward Forster and certified sommelier Jessica Railey-Forster, along with their friends, executive chef Joe Fenush and sommelier Tony Rials, have re-created an ’80s Parisian bar á vin where food and beverage are elevated to an art form.
These four creatives and partner-owners joined forces in November of 2019 to open Waxlight Bar a Vin, 27 Chandler Street in the Black Rock neighborhood, delivering a menu and atmosphere that challenge anyone who doubts that cooking is an art.
From the moment you walk in, you realize that everything at Waxlight, a wine-focused restaurant, has been curated, from the design of the space to its food and drink.
“Art is sensory, and coming to our restaurant is, too,” says Jessica. “The ambiance is warm, welcoming. The humming of other guests enjoying their meals adds to the atmosphere. Our place settings: silverware, plates, cocktail shakers, and of course, food and drink, are selected with a desire to elicit an emotional response similar to an aesthetic experience one has when viewing a work of art.”
Their unique venue earned Waxlight the honor of being named a James Beard Awards semi-finalist for its wine program and other beverages in 2023.
People come not only to sink into the blue velvet couches, or to experience the chefs’ unique layering of flavors; nor to see how food is plated or how textures and temperatures of ingredients combine, but to enjoy the seasonally based menu that changes, and surprises, nightly.
“We meet every day as a team to prepare our menu,” Edward explains. “In the kitchen, and at the bar, I like to say we paint with broader brushstrokes. Our culinary program starts with ingredients: what’s seasonal, what’s fresh. Then, we frantically preserve ingredients for off-season. We maintain a pantry of flavors for when an ingredient is no longer available: drying, pickling and preserving. We ferment liquids into vinegar.”
According to Edward, his greatest inspiration comes from ingredients themselves.
“Green garlic, for example, has three parts: top, center stalk and bottom,” he says. “We use every part of it. We roast the tops and pickle the usable stalk. The young bulb is roasted into an ash that becomes a curing agent, which we use as a flavor base in many dishes.”
Edward says the goal is to create dishes with complex flavor. Braised lamb necks, for example, are seared off, then roasted and braised. The bones are removed and the meat is then pressed into squares and roasted over a hardwood grill to add smokiness. Finally, they are glazed with a moutardaise—a hollandaise sauce with Dijon mustard—and served with a shredded potato pancake called Pommes Paillasson.
“What results is flavor that’s surprising with bursts of sweetness and hidden, nuanced tones,” he says.
Both Jessica and Edward insist that the success of their food and beverage menu begins with relationships.
A certified sommelier since 2017, Jessica is currently a candidate for Advanced Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers.
She describes the relationships she’s forged with winemakers. “We do not sell huge, commodity-based wine. I seek out small producers, usually family-based. Just as we build relationships with local farmers for food, I approach winemakers the same way. They are farmers, after all. I seek out winemakers practicing sustainable farming. Organic and biodynamic practices are incredibly important for our environment. I think it's my responsibility as a sommelier and business owner to champion them.”
She adds, “We meet winemakers here in the Niagara peninsula and Finger Lakes; in Napa and Sonoma; and in France: Burgundy, Rhone Valley and Beaujolais. We were also in Germany this summer to meet with winemakers.”
At Waxlight, choosing wine is about finding something familiar or new depending upon your sense of adventure.
“As a sommelier, I like to break our wine list down for our guests,” she says. “Wine should be approachable. I’m here to share information. Whether someone likes Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc, I try to offer something different.
“We have many classic wines on our list, too,” she continues. “Our bottle list is organized by style and body to make it easier for guests to find a wine they like. Do they prefer a white that’s tart, dry, with high acidity like a Sauvignon Blanc, or a glass that’s flowery and fruity like a Chardonnay? We offer low-tannin reds like Gamay from Beaujolais, and bolder, more powerful reds like Barolo, or Barbaresco from the Piedmont region of Italy. We have a nice selection of varietals from Eastern Europe, too.”
Jessica is also excited about wines from Portugal and South Africa.
“It’s fun to introduce new and exciting wines, like those we tasted in Germany this summer, which will appear on our wine list in the coming months,” she says.
Unique to Waxlight is that owners are tableside serving food and drink.
“We have an interesting way of showcasing and telling stories about wine and beverages that we can share with our guests if we’re tableside,” Jessica says.
And Edward is forward-facing to guests, too. “From making a mayo with maple vinegar that coats our pork rillette, to pickled mustard seeds, or fermented honey from strawberries, guests want to know where these robust flavors are coming from,” he says.
Tony Rials, certified sommelier, is behind the bar, pouring cocktails and mocktails he’s developed in coordination with the daily menu.
Rials, too, emphasizes seasonality, playing off ideas from the kitchen. He explores different fermentations, combining surprising ingredients in cocktails.
His take on a gimlet, traditionally gin and lime juice, amps up its flavor in his Daisy, made from a paste of ginger, sugar, salt and limes, that’s fermented for up to two weeks.
While Rials pays homage to the classics, “They are classics, after all, for a reason,” he loves to add unexpected notes.
For example, his Smash, a combination of tequila, chartreuse, citrus, basil and cucumber, or the 50/50 martini, made with Old Tom’s gin, vermouth, Chardonnay, fig and apricot, are unique mixes.
Fortified wines such as port or sherry are ingredients he favors.
According to Rials, mocktails are gaining in popularity, with the pineapple daiquiri being a bestseller.
“We make a savory non-alcoholic daiquiri with pineapple juice, cardamom-steeped honey, and coconut amino (tastes like balsamic vinegar).”
Lest we forget dessert, Edward says the sorbet and gelato at Waxlight draw raves.
“Our dairy-free chocolate gelato made with dark chocolate and garnished with citrus is a crowd-pleaser. Coconut Sorbet Affogato—warm espresso poured over coconut sorbet, made with vanilla, citrus and ginger, and topped with red velvet cake crumbs and caramel—is also very popular.”
French pastry made in a copper mold lined with beeswax, Coconut Canelé de Bordeaux, bakes to a crispy, caramelized crust with a soft custard center.
These chefs know their way around a kitchen. Forster and Fenush earned their culinary reputations in London, New York and Chicago working under Michelin chefs and at James Beard awarded restaurants. Now they’ve brought their expertise and ingenuity to Chandler Street in Buffalo.
