1770 House Chef Featured On Barefoot Contessa"

For Kevin Penner, the executive chef at the 1770 House in East Hampton, stepping onto the set of the Food Network show “Barefoot Contessa” last month was a familiar experience.

For him, the day would entail cooking with an old friend, “Barefoot Contessa” host Ina Garten, while teaching millions of viewers how to make one of the East Hampton restaurant’s most popular dishes. Over the years, Mr. Penner has been featured as a judge on “The Next Food Network Star” as well as “The Best Thing I Ever Ate,” both alongside Ms. Garten.

For his appearance on “Barefoot Contessa,” Mr. Penner prepared a dish that is a favorite of Ms. Garten, as well as the countless guests he serves as head chef at the 1770 House: his classic tavern meatloaf. The meatloaf, which is dished out in the tavern of the East Hampton restaurant starting at 5:30 p.m. every day, is unique because it doesn’t focus on just dark meat, according to Mr. Penner.

“It’s just a little more refined version of the dish than what you’d find in most places,” said Mr. Penner. “It’s a little bit different. It de-emphasizes brown meat, which can make meatloaf taste like a hamburger.”

But Mr. Penner said that the real secret to his meatloaf is in the sauce, which is a reduction of chicken stock seasoned with cloves and garlic, among other spices. This sauce is a welcome alternative to thick brown mushroom-based gravy that is often served with meatloaf, he said.

“We don’t do a flour-thickened sauce, we do a naturally reduced sauce,” said Mr. Penner. “It intensifies the flavor. It’s a little more finessed.”

For Ms. Garten, having Mr. Penner on her show, which is filmed in her East Hampton home and is broadcast every weekday at 5 p.m. on the Food Network, also provided her a chance to see how one of her favorite dishes is made. She said that she frequents the 1770 House at least twice a week, noting that “there’s a corner table with my name on it.”

The “Barefoot Contessa” show often showcases friends of Ms. Garten, including local chefs. She said during a recent telephone interview that the chance to share one of her favorite dishes, made by Mr. Penner, with her viewing audience was quite the treat.

“I have people who I love and admire on my show. He was fabulous,” she said. “I have unbelievable respect for him, he runs fabulous restaurants ... What he does is so interesting.”

Ms. Garten noted that she previously had invited Mr. Penner to be a guest on “The Next Food Network Star,” in which a contestant vying to become a Food Network channel chef was slated to prepare a meal especially for her. She said that on the show Mr. Penner dished out what she felt was one of the best bits of advice for those starting out in the culinary field: new chefs often misuse salt and pepper.

In addition to his appearance on “The Next Food Network Star,” Mr. Penner was also given the honor of being Ms. Garten’s pick to prepare “the best thing she’s ever eaten,” on the Food Network show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Comfort Food Edition.” Her choice was naturally the tavern meatloaf.

According to both Ms. Garten and Mr. Penner, the taping of the episode of Barefoot Contessa went flawlessly, and the natural chemistry that the two have shone through on camera.

“It’s a lot of fun just doing it one-on-one with Ina,” Mr. Penner said of the experience. “We have a good back-and-forth relationship on the show. Nothing is scripted, it’s all just natural.”

The “Barefoot Contessa” episode starring Mr. Penner aired on the Food Network on February 9. Mr. Penner’s 1770 House Meatloaf recipe can be found on foodnetwork.com.