Enough already about the casualities of the Hollywood writers strike. We’re here to celebrate a savory and beneficial byproduct of the walkout: Mac and Cheese that’s ready to eat and just a call or e-mail away from being delivered to your door.
Paddy Aubrey is the chef and brains behind this L.A. operation he calls Paddy Mac. Aubrey said he developed his Mac-and-Cheese chops by preparing the dish every night of his freshman year at Skidmore College. But it wasn’t until the writers strike that Aubrey got the inspiration to parlay his expertise into an enterprise.
Aubrey is a musician by trade — he plays bass — so he was used to spending time at home during the day. He was not used to spending the day with his wife Jamie Tarses, the former ABC Entertainment boss and now an executive producer of TBS’ comedy “My Boys.” But when the strike hit, she was home a lot more often.
“The Mac and Cheese was a way to keep me out of her hair,” Aubrey said.
Aubrey said he runs the business from their home in Hollywood, but the cooking is done at a professional kitchen he rents in Culver City. Paddy Mac offers five varieties in three sizes. It can be delivered hot or what Aubrey calls “fridge/freezer/oven ready.”
We chose the hot delivery for our sample taste. Aubrey sent four of the five offerings and apologized that the Truffled Mac was unavailable that day because of a supply issue. Always a bummer to miss out on truffles, but the other selections were winners in their own right.
The Ship is Aubrey’s basic no-frills recipe, although he does use five cheeses. This was simple but strong, a perfect dish to warm up with on a cold or rainy night.
The Gourmet features leeks, mushrooms and “a touch of Gruyere” in addition to the usual five-cheese foundation. This was Jenny’s favorite. It was hearty and complex like a full meal, not just a side dish.
The same could be same for my favorite, the Farm, which includes bacon, broccoli, goat’s cheese and some Feta. I’m usually not a huge Feta fan — I always ask them to take it easy on the cheese when ordering a Greek salad — but it works fine here. And of course, you know how we feel about bacon, and Aubrey agrees.
“Hey, people like bacon,” he said.
The Big Paddy Mac offers what you might expect. There is hamburger and tomato sauce in the mix. It wasn’t as good as the others, but I didn’t really mind it either. This was the only one Jenny didn’t like, only because the tomato sauce was too sweet for her taste, like ketchup. And if you know Jenny, you know she thinks that ketchup belongs on the same list with cockroaches and people who club baby seals as things that need to be expunged from this planet. But I digress.
Aubrey confirmed our impressions when we spoke afterwards. He said the Ship remains his best seller but that the Gourmet and Farm have generated plenty of buzz. “The Farm is really popular with parties,” he said.
Aubrey has used the local parenting website Peachhead to spread the word about his business, and he has also picked up jobs from Tarses’ TV connections. The intersection of those two worlds produced the craziest day of his Paddy Mac venture.
“I had a craft services order for a show, and they wanted about 55 or 60 pounds,” he said. “Plus I had six or seven moms from Peachhead. I was making everything to order. I stayed up all night, like 16, 17 hours straight making Mac and Cheese.”
Clearly he can handle large orders, so think about this as a party option. Your guests will love and thank you for serving up some rich and yummy Mac and Cheese instead of chips and pretzels. You can thank the writers strike. –Victor.
Disclosure: It was only during Victor’s interview with Aubrey that we learned his wife is Jamie Tarses. While an editor and reporter at Variety, Jenny wrote about Tarses in the course of covering the TV industry. Jenny later worked as a V.P. at ABC’s sister studio, Touchstone TV, during Tarses’ tenure at the network. We swear this is purely coincidence. Small world made even smaller through the magic of Mac and Cheese.
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No reason to whine, really. The food is hearty and hand-licking delicious. All three of us ordered the burger. Of course. You have to get the burger. It’s legendary in size, spilling out of the bun, juicier than any Juicy Couture sweats and decadently dressed with sweet carmelized onions, bacon, Gruyere and Maytag blue cheese and arugula. My favorite part? No ketchup anywhere. I abhor ketchup. Always have. I had no trouble devouring the entire burger. And when Kerith filled up and sent the second half of hers away, I flagged down the server and snatched it back. I knew Victor would be pleased. He and I split the leftovers later.
