Chef Brian Therkildsen, a Fort Wayne native, brings his culinary expertise to micro-creamery Brooklyn Pints with his life and business partner, Trisha Tran. With a passion for creating innovative dishes and a Culinary Institute of America degree, he honed his skills in some of New York City’s best kitchens. He infuses his Midwestern roots into the duo’s culinary creations using locally sourced ingredients and sustainable practices. At Brooklyn Pints, chef Therkildsen, along with Tran, combines their love for traditional flavors with modern techniques, delivering unique ice cream flavors delighting both locals and visitors.
What made you want to become a chef?
I have a few photos of me as a small child helping my mom in the kitchen, and I always wanted to bake by myself as I got older. It was more of a hobby but turned into a profession after I entered a culinary competition team in my high school, and we won state! That’s when I knew I would be a pastry chef for a living.
What is your favorite type of food and why?
I would have to pick Asian or Mexican. Both have some great flavor combinations that I’ll never get tired of.
Where do you get your inspiration?
A lot comes from reading other chefs’ books that I’m familiar with and also from chefs I know. One of my biggest inspirations was the chef I worked under when I was working at Gramercy Tavern in NYC. He pushed me to be a better chef and a leader.
What is your favorite thing to make for yourself and your family?
I love baking bread, by far my favorite thing to make. If I had to pick. it would be brioche, milk bread or sourdough!
If you could eat anywhere in the world, where would that be, and what would you eat?
I want to visit Japan and go back to Scandinavia. Both are such unique cultures and what fascinates me the most about a country’s culture is its food. I want to visit the best ramen spots in Japan, and I want to go to Bergen, Norway, mostly because it is so pretty. But it is right on the coast, so I’m sure their fish is incredible.
If you could choose a favorite place in Indiana to visit, where would that be located, and what would you eat?
To be honest, I haven’t explored much outside of Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. But I will say I always look for those hole-in-the-wall places – the ones that deserve to be popular but are really only talked about by the locals. I’ll always gravitate towards those.
What items are always in your fridge?
Nothing surprising, ha ha. Eggs, some sort of starch and a protein. When you work the hours I do, the time for cooking doesn’t exist, so it’s pretty simple in my fridge. But cheese sticks will always be in there. I love cheese sticks.
