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Blue Point Brewing Co.’s chef, new to Moriches, plans farm-to-table eating

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Charley Sinden

When the Blue Point Brewing Co. in Patchogue opens its new 250-seat restaurant in April, it will also be introducing a West Coast born-and-bred chef who now calls Moriches home.

Charley Sinden, 36, grew up in Phoenix and honed cooking with beer at Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado and a number of other places. He lived in Alaska and last May accepted the position as executive chef at Blue Point’s new brewery after a stint in Seattle.

Charley Sinden is the new executive chef at Blue Point Brewing Co.  (Feb. 26, 2019/Carl Corry)

He moved to New York in August and is currently renting a former windmill near the U.S. Coast Guard station in Moriches that withstood the Hurricane of 1938 and was modified into a house.

He and his wife, Lauren —the couple has a 2-year-old son, Harlan — are in contract to close on a house in Center Moriches, which comes with an acre lot that Sinden plans to use for gardening down the line.

“I plan to grow the food that I serve,” he said. “Once the whole big picture comes together, it’s going to be amazing.”

“I’ve always been a huge gardener,” he added, noting that chefs would call him “Farmer Charley” going back to his early years in the business.

The New Blue Point Brewery

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The restaurant’s opening on April 18 will correspond with the brewery’s overall opening at its new location in the former Patchogue lace mill property, which last played host to Briarcliffe College. The brewery used to be located less than 1/2 mile away.

Sinden said he chose to live in the Moriches area because of its as rural character. And as someone from the West Coast, he said he was happily surprised to learn how much is grown on Long Island, and that the region had a thriving wine industry.

At Blue Point’s counter-service restaurant, Sinden is going to feature lots of sandwiches and small plates, and he  plans to use local products — from bread, to pastries to duck and oysters.

“We plan to tastefully use beer — not overly used,” he said.

A few examples: Blue Point’s newest signature beer, The IPA, are in the batter for local cod in fish and chips; The Toasted Lager, Blue Point’s flagship beer, is poured into a garlicky, sausage-studded broth for steamed mussels; and potatoes for french fries will be brined in Beach Plum Gose.

As a Long Island newbie, Sinden said he’s looking forward to the summertime, “to see what kind of fish comes in.”

And then where there are opportunities to relax at some point, “I’m looking forward to long sunny days and cold beers.”

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