Peter X. Kelly

Coming Up

Marist College was the first formal stop in Peter X. Kelly’s training, before the work moved fully into professional kitchens. His start as a dishwasher in a small German restaurant set the terms early: timing, sequence, and service discipline are not abstract ideas but daily requirements. That same discipline carried into his long run as head chef at Xaviars at Garrison, New York (1983–2002), a defining period that gave the restaurant a fixed place in his professional record. The scope widened from there. As founding chef and culinary director at Impromptu Gourmet (from 1999), Peter X. Kelly took on not just production but the shaping of a point of view. He later served as chef at X2O – Xaviars on the Hudson in Yonkers, New York (2008–2024), extending the Xaviars name into a new room while keeping the same controlled approach to Contemporary American cooking. His current portfolio shows continuity rather than drift. Peter X. Kelly is owner / operator of Xaviars in Piermont (since 1987), owner / operator of Freelance Cafe (since 1989), chef of Basso by PXK (since 2025), chef of The Waveny Tavern by PXK (since 2025), and runs Xaviars Restaurant Group. The pattern is a long commitment to building restaurants and maintaining their identity, with enough range to open new work under his own name. Across those roles, the constant is a kitchen culture organized around movement, precision, and forward pressure.

Where They Are Now

Apropos Restaurant at The Abbey Inn in Peekskill is Peter X. Kelly’s current post as Culinary Director. The role fits the same operating style that has defined his earlier work: keeping the kitchen and dining room aligned through execution, structure, and attention to detail. He also runs Xaviars Restaurant Group, which ties the larger network of his restaurants together.

Signature

Peter’s signature dishes include lamb ragù, grilled filet with green peppercorn sauce, and moscato pannacotta with apricot and chili preserve. Taken together, they show a menu sense that moves between comfort and polish, depth and lift. The lamb ragù reads as built flavor; the grilled filet with green peppercorn sauce stays inside a classic frame; and the moscato pannacotta with apricot and chili preserve brings softness, fruit, and heat into the same finish. In Kelly’s hands, the point is balance: dishes that are composed, active, and closely judged.

In Their Words “We might smoke potatoes first and then prepare a rich puree of silken potatoes to accompany a grilled steak.” “Or instead of using mint in a sauce or dressing we might substitute shiso leaf to add another dimension.” These lines show a practical way of working with familiar ingredients. The first takes a common starch, adds smoke, and turns it into a smoother accompaniment for a grilled steak. The second swaps one herb for another to shift the flavor without changing the structure of the dish. In both cases, the move is measured: adjust the texture, change the aroma, add dimension, keep service moving.