When you think of macaroni and cheese, you typically picture a neon-orange cheddar cheese pull, a heavy casserole dish of elbow pasta, maybe some broccoli thrown in at the last minute before sitting around a casual picnic table? For Jeffry Chen, however — executive restaurant chef at San Laurel in Conrad Los Angeles — nothing could be further from reality. Instead, envision an airy dining room bathed in golden California light, natural woods and the piece de resistance: snippets of slender vermicelli pasta, toasted with aromatic bay leaves and garlic and then bathed in a velvety cheese sauce.

Says chef Chen, “This dish is very nostalgic to a lot of people when they were younger and brings back a lot of memories. Here we make the dish in an elevated style — toasting the [vermicelli] pasta, adding smokey Spanish Idiazabal cheese. Oh, and always use homemade chicken stock. If you want to go all out, add black or white truffles to enhance the flavor even more.”

That’s right. This is macaroni and cheese, or rather Vermicelli “Mac n’ Cheese”, when it’s created by someone who’s trained under the skillful eye of master chef, restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés. Chen, who has worked with Andrés since 2011, credits the culinary mastermind as being a huge influence on his cooking and it shows. Look at San Laurel’s delectable menu and you’ll see hints of modern Spain: grilled romaine with manchego foam and piparra peppers, head-on shrimp with garlic and olive oil — the list goes on. The best part? True to José Andrés’ community-focused approach, everything is made with the freshest produce on offer at the local farmer’s markets.

Oh, and for those skeptical that a macaroni and cheese recipe can’t be elevated, don’t trust us — trust chef Chen. "Having a clear understanding and knowing what one ingredient's full potential is, that's what takes a dish from good to great."

Let’s eat!

Preparation

Peel and slice shallots slightly less than 1/8" thick.

Place shallots in a bowl, coat in rice flour and sift excess off.

Fill a sauce pot with about an inch of oil. Add coated sliced shallots to the hot oil, fry and set aside on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Put a small sauce pot on the heat. Heat olive oil on medium heat, adding a garlic clove and a bay leaf.

Add the vermicelli pasta and toast until golden.

Add stock, heavy cream and bring to a simmer.

Cook on low for 4 minutes. Season to taste.

Remove garlic clove and bay leaves and place vermicelli pasta mix in a dish.

Finely grate Idiazabal cheese over the pasta and top with swirls of fudgy yolk sauce.

Place a small saucepan over high heat, add oil and fry off the morel mushrooms

Add the fried mushrooms to the pasta dish and finish with the crispy shallots.

Leanne Philip is a content marketing manager at Hilton. She has written for numerous print and digital platforms, including Travel + Leisure, The Atlantan and Barneys New York.