August 12, 2022

Meet Our Development Chef

Hi, my name is Philip Wolfe and my path to Clover’s Development Kitchen has not necessarily been a predictable one. 

I grew up surrounded by scientists and amazing food. To my family of cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists my professional interest in food may have come as somewhat of a relief. I was a bad student; we don’t have to get into how bad, but let’s just say I was not going to be taking advantage of the tuition remission programs for which I was, in theory, eligible. When I was about 14 I started to look at college options and the idea of signing up for what looked like 4 more years of high school filled me with dread. 

It was around this time that a distant memory began to resurface; half forgotten afternoons in the 90’s spent watching PBS, and a show called Cooking Secrets of The CIA… We did not have cable in my house growing up. I thought everyone came home from school and straight into a lineup of Julia Child, Jaques Pepin, and Jim Lehrer (as a small child I was pretty sure Julia and Jim were married, she cooked and he talked about whatever happened in the world that day; made sense to 5 year-old Phil). Anywho, after some brief googling I learned that The CIA very much still existed and was in-fact a pretty reputable culinary school. After a little more research I was sold, and within a few weeks had started an apprenticeship at a restaurant in Newtonville; skipping class to make creme brûlée and duck confit. 

A couple years later, while I was a student at The CIA my dad told me about a food truck that had appeared on MIT’s campus and from there I began following Clover as a business and source of excellent chickpea fritters. 

Since graduating from culinary school I’ve worked in a variety of foodservice operations, everything from private chef at a reclusive software developer, to 6 years as a sushi chef specializing in menu development for elaborate omakase tasting menus. When the opportunity to become part of the Clover universe appeared I could not get my application in fast enough. Coming out of the last couple years of pandemic-uncertainty I was ready for a completely new challenge and everything about the position as Clover’s Development Chef sounded amazing. Getting to work on everything from our new seasonal sandwiches to the ever-evolving box program keeps me in a creative space that is incredibly fun and engaging. 

In many ways the interdisciplinary nature of Clover feels like home in a way that no other workplace has. Clover Food Lab has always been about research and development, finding new and delicious ways to get local veggies to as many people as possible and I am so excited to have found my way into part of that. And somehow, like so many others in my family, I have ended up running a ‘lab’… 

Recent Posts

March 27, 2024
Every year, just after Valentine’s Day, we start getting the same question in from customers: Will there be a Passover Box this year? Sometimes the pleas are more direct, sometimes more colorful. The glories of the vegetarian Chopped Liver are a common theme. This year, Sarah, an NYC-based friend of mine said she’s spent so much time thinking about the emails describing last year’s box that she’s DRIVING UP TO BOSTON to claim one!
February 15, 2024
We have a new sandwich out everywhere today. It’s a take on a Buffalo Chicken sandwich. We use celery root, aka celeriac, this nobbly, gnarled joy of a winter vegetable. We cut it into planks, batter it with panko, and fry it. We’re getting ours from Norwich Meadows Farm, a farm in NY state that’s known for creating really flavorful organic veggies using a cool irrigation system. 
February 7, 2024
For the week of Valentine’s Day, we’ll be delivering these Making Whoopie (Pie) Kits 😉. They have everything you need to make whoopie pies — more specifically, Chris’ favorite oatmeal cakes with beet buttercream frosting. You’ll also get a scoop for making the perfect size pie, and a roll of sugar cookie dough for more sweet fun.
January 18, 2024
Pull out your plaid and cue up the bagpipes because it’s Clover’s third-ever celebration of Burns Night, an introduction to Scottish food/drink/music/poetry and a reason to raise a glass during this dark and cold month! You may be asking yourself, what is Burns Night?
January 17, 2024
Chances are you’ve tried the new Clover Bowls. We’ve been running them since the Spring. After a few tweaks, we landed on a roster we love: the Mediterranean Bowl, the Verde Rice and Bean Bowl, and a Rotating Seasonal Bowl. The bowls have transformed our menu – Josh, a Kendall customer, recently wrote to us, “The beet poke bowl is the best new item I’ve tried at Clover in years. I love the freshness and bite of the mix of flavors.” We’ve also heard some very good suggestions about how to make them even better…
January 3, 2024
Meet the Veggie Monster Meal Box! Some of you are subscribers to our Friday newsletter about plant-based cooking. Now… that newsletter has spawned a meal box! Pack your fridge with everything you need to make an entire week of vegetable-based meals. Think hearty pot pies; sweet and spicy maple-roasted squash tacos; bowls packed with…
December 20, 2023
New Year’s Eve is no time to be buried in the kitchen, so we pack our NYE Box with Clover fan favorites that come together fast and encourage a night of Finger-Food Feasting. Can you think of anything better than digging into bubbling hot Brussels Sprout Cheese dip on a freezing cold Boston night? Or scooping up our bright nutty Romesco sauce as the clock ticks to midnight?  And our breakthrough Carrot Lox (probably the best thing to come out of our food dev in 2023) will have you resolving to spare more salmon in the year ahead.
December 19, 2023
Stop by Clover today (Tuesday 12/19) and when you order a Brussels Sandwich on the app, we’ll give you $1 off our new chocolate chip cookie! It’s a gift from King Brussels, on his final day in the Clover Kingdom. Use this link to get yours!
December 16, 2023
Are you looking for the perfect gift for a friend who loves Clover? We have online gift cards! You can specify a time that you’d like the card to hit their inbox – and there’s a new feature that lets multiple people pool money to send a card to one person. Pretty cool!  
December 10, 2023
What would we serve if we had all of you over for Christmas dinner? This (epic) box, available only for Christmas, is an homage to the holiday traditions of our Clover staff. And like all Clover boxes, it supports our hardworking Massachusetts farmers, millers, bakers, and cheesemakers. This box is designed to feed you and keep you properly festive throughout a week with different meals/snacks, and can also be laid out all together on a holiday table as one big feast.
December 4, 2023
These sweet potato latkes date back to early days on the Clover food truck. They’re so yummy and the sweet potatoes lend them such a fun golden color. They’re probably the most popular item in our Hanukkah Meal Box, which you can get delivered on December 7th. Inside the box you’ll find: 
November 29, 2023
I’m writing to share some news: we’ve decided to permanently close CloverROW, our outpost in the Assembly Row neighborhood of Somerville. The closure of this restaurant is part of the whole company’s focus on reaching financial sustainability and positioning us for future growth. These decisions are really hard, but they’re necessary steps for us to simplify Clover. And, happily, all the amazing staff at CloverROW, including the manager Joe, will be able to move into other Clover restaurants. The math is straightforward…