The Executive Chef Bryan Naylor of OSO Restaurant in Southampton loves to "have fun with food" finding creative application for unusual ingredients. Here he uses sausage placed to resemble fish scales to keep the fish moist. Photos by Nicole B. Brewer

Southampton - For many chefs the culinary path begins in the back of a kitchen as part of a summer job - washing dishes, bussing tables - all of the hard tasks that bring a future chef just a little bit closer to the food. For Chef Bryan Naylor, Executive Chef at OSO Restaurant in Southampton since October 2008, it began much the same when at age 11 he began working at the Mill River Inn in Oyster Bay under the direction of Chef Nick Molfetta. Inspired by the food he slowly worked his way to the line and headed to NYIT to study the culinary sciences. After graduating, he worked his way across the country and then back to the East End, learning more as he went along. His career has even led him to the small screen as part of a TV cooking show and then to teach at the Culinary Academy of Long Island.

Chef Bryan Naylor preps the fish and sausage.

"Being in Southampton my philosophy on food has changed and I'm just now finding my style," remarked Chef Naylor recently in his kitchen. "I joined the Long Island Farm Bureau and am putting together a list of Long Island wines for the restaurant. We're also going green using products within a 100-mile radius." Always one to promote the use of fresh, local produce Naylor says, "I shop at Schmidt's in the afternoon and cook what I find here in the restaurant that night. It really does make a difference with fresh ingredients."

Admittedly Chef Naylor loves to "have fun with food" finding creative application for unusual ingredients like wasabi micro-greens, retro candies, and more. He describes the food at OSO as "creative contemporary American" and prefers to take simple vegetables to another level. On the menu you'll find what he describes as "elevated comfort foods." There are lots of slow roasted meats and local fishes including striped bass, fluke, salmon, tuna, and scallops. When he's not checking out produce at Schmidt's, you can often find Chef Naylor shopping at Clamman just up the road from the restaurant for things you'll see on the menu later that day.

Using a French technique for this recipe, Chef Naylor takes sea bass and bakes it with sausage slices resembling fish scales. The end result is a moist, flaky fish with savory, crisp sausage - each bite is simply delicious. A tip from the chef - when cooking the fish set the temperature at 325 and cook about 12-minutes-per-pound depending on the cut of the fish. This recipe works with any white fish explains Chef Naylor- feel free to get creative but be sure to use something local!

Arrange the sausage on top of the fish.

Baked Sea Bass
Recipe by Chef Bryan Naylor

12 ounces of fish fillet
3 ounces of Chorizo or any hard sausage
4 ounces Ponzu vinegar
3 baby red beets peeled, halved and boiled until fork tender
3 ounces of either vegetable or fish stock
1 ounce butter
Salt and pepper to taste

 • Rinse the filet under cold water gently to remove any scales or bones that might still be on fish. Pat dry with paper towel.
 • Slice sausage in thin half moons and arrange on top of fish to mimic scales.
 • Place in sauté pan and bake in oven for 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Remove fish and let rest while making sauce.
 • Deglaze sauté pan by bringing ponzu, stock, and beets to a boil. Reduce by half and lower to a simmer. Swirl in butter.
 • Place fish on plate and drizzle sauce around.

OSO Restaurant is located in the Southampton Inn at 91 Hill Street, Southampton, 631-283-1166, www.southamptoninn.com.