Category Archives: Chefs

Take Five with Chef Robert Sapirman, on His Big Plans for Citrus Restaurant in Santana Row

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Chef Robert Sapirman on the terrace of the Hotel Valencia.

Chef Robert Sapirman has circled the Bay Area in the past year, only to wind up not too far from where he once was.

Bay Area foodies may remember him as the long-time head chef of Parcel 104 in Santa Clara. He departed that upscale restaurant in the Marriott Hotel to open Vesu in Walnut Creek, only to see that restaurant shutter a year later.

Now, for nearly six months, he’s been the executive chef of Citrus in the Hotel Valencia in San Jose’s Santana Row, just a few miles from — you guessed it — Parcel 104. The eight-year-old Hotel Valencia, known for years far more for its lively bar scene than its restaurant food, is in for a transformation. By the end of the year, not only will the lobby and other public areas of the hotel get a freshened look, but Citrus will debut a new concept. Sapirman, long known for his commitment to stellar ingredients, was brought in specifically to try to put Citrus on the map for discriminating foodies. Under his direction, expect the restaurant’s current steakhouse concept to give way to a more dynamic one of global tapas.

Recently, I had a chance to sit down with the 37-year-old, New Jersey-born and Fort Lauderdale-reared chef who now oversees the food for not only for Citrus, VBar, and Cielo wine bar, but banquets and room service for the 212-room hotel.

Vietnamese-style caramelized ribs cooked sous vide, finished on the grill, then served with housemade kimchee.

Q: Is your food here similar to what you were cooking at Parcel 104?

A: It’s similar in that it’s ingredient-driven. I try to seek out the best ingredients that I can. My passion now is global tapas. I did a little of that at lunch at Parcel 104 before I left. Vesu also was a great platform for that.

Q: Are you hoping to change the perception that the Hotel Valencia is all about the bar scene?

A: Absolutely. We have a handicap in Citrus in that we’re surrounded by other restaurants. We need to make you come up to the second floor here. Plus, the perception is that restaurants in hotels are not good. I know we struggled with that at the Marriott, too.

I hope to fill this 62-seat restaurant every night and to get people up here to love my food. That’s what every chef wants, right? I hope to make the restaurant as busy as the hotel is, so that when people call for a reservation, there won’t be any.

Q: How will you differentiate yourself from the other restaurants at Santana Row?

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Crazy for Custard

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A spoonful of maple custard will make any day better.

I know some people who turn up their nose at custard, thinking it suitable only for teething kids or seniors with denture issues.

They must be mad.

I don’t know about you, but a creamy, silky, custard is what I call one of life’s little pleasures. The moment your spoon breaks the top and scoops up some of that smooth, eggy goodness, you know you’re in for a happy mouthful.

The other good thing about custards is that they make for a fine way to use up extra egg yolks left over from baking an egg white-laden angel food cake.

In fact, that’s what prompted me to make these lovely “Maple Custards” from the classic cookbook, “Chez Panisse Desserts” (Random House). It’s by Lindsey Remolif Shere, who was the opening pastry chef at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, before she left to open the absolutely wonderful Downtown Bakery and Creamery in Healdsburg in 1987. If you’re ever in the area, you must visit it.

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Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti Visits the South Bay & More

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Meet Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti. (Photo courtesy of the chef)

Meet Pastry Chef Emily Luchetti in Campbell

Emily Luchetti, award-winning pastry chef of Farallon and Waterbar in San Francisco, will host a pastry demo and a book-signing at 6 p.m. May 26 at the International Culinary Center of  California in Campbell.

The center is operated by the French Culinary Institute in New York, of which Luchetti recently became a dean.

Luchetti will be signing copies of her new cookbook, “The Fearless Baker” (Little, Brown and Company), at this free event. Attendees also will get a chance to find out more information about the center’s Classic Pastry Arts class, which begins June 2.

RSVP to the event by calling (415) 781-5700.

Waterbar offers four-legged friends complimentary treats.(Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Free Doggie Treats Courtesy of Emily Luchetti

Speaking of Emily Luchetti, she’s now providing complimentary treats to pooches who are hanging out on the Waterbar patio in San Francisco with their two-legged owners.

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Scenes From “Cooking for Solutions” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

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Chef Chris Cosentino shows off his fave T-shirt that's a hoot -- at the "Cooking for Solutions'' gala.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium hosted its 10th “Cooking for Solutions” conference last weekend, bringing together chefs; food purveyors; marine scientists; fishermen; government officials; and celebrities such as Isabella Rossellini, Alton Brown and Ted Turner; as well as journalists such as yours truly, to learn about environmental issues gripping our oceans and planet.

There was good news: Experts from the Environmental Defense Fund don’t expect to see any health issues arising from Gulf seafood resulting from the dispersants used to combat the oil disaster.

Alarming news: Former Gourmet magazine editor Barry Estabrook and creator of the James Beard award-winning Politics of the Plate blog, uncovers in his new book, “Tomatoland” (Andrews McMeel), how many of the popular grape tomatoes sold in supermarkets are picked primarily by women of child-bearing-age who are exposed to pesticides regularly.

Troubling statistics: In California, cotton and rice make up only 3 percent of crops grown, but receive 44 percent of federal subsidies doled out in the state. That leaves the bulk of the farmers, who grow fruits and veggies, with few subsidies.

News to use every day: Experts agreed that of all the ecolabels out in the marketplace now, the most trustworthy ones are — Certified Humane, Free Trade, Certified Organic, Marine Stewardship Council, Country of Origin, and Seafood Watch.

Isabella Rossellini -- still stunning and still making powerful films.

Alton Brown, whose next project will highlight the 25 fish you're not eating, but should be.

And charming moments: Rossellini — who attended the conference with her son, who is studying marine biology — talked about her educational yet humorous “Green Pornos.” Rossellini produced, directed and stars in these short films, produced for the Sundance Channel, which highlight the reproductive lives of marine animals. These offbeat films are memorable with their sets made of paper and Rossellini portraying each species in costume. If you’ve never seen a “Green Porno,” they are definitely worth checking out.

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Il Cane Rosso — A Tiny Spot That Delivers Big

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The staff at Il Cane Rosso inside San Francisco’s Ferry Building like to joke that they don’t have a real kitchen or dining room.

But what they’re able to create inside this tiny space that was once a takeout rotisserie is fairly miraculous. Cane Rosso’s open-face, warm egg salad sandwich with anchovy garlic butter is legendary. And its regular $25 three-course dinners have earned loyal fans.

Chef Lauren Kiino, who named the place after her three-legged rescue dog, Cody, opened the restaurant in 2009 in partnership with Chef Daniel Patterson of Coi in San Francisco. When that business relationship fizzled this year, Kiino took complete control of Cane Rosso.

A restaurant named after a chef's rescue dog.

The friendly staff and tiny kitchen.

She’s also been scouting locations in the Bay Area and Los Angeles to open another restaurant. Meantime, Cane Rosso has started doing a series of pop-up restaurants, in which the cooks borrow another establishment for a night to do a special prix fixe dinner. May 19 and May 20, they’ll be hosting one seating each night at 7 p.m. in honor of Mariquita Farm in Watsonville, which supplies a lot of Cane Rosso’s produce. Farm owner Andy Griffin will be on hand each night to talk about his farm as Kiino cooks up such dishes as crispy pork belly with Mariquita Farm roasted nettle and fregola salad. Crates of freshly picked strawberries will be available for purchase, too. The dinner, to be held at Coffee Bar in San Francisco, will feature four courses for $40, plus an additional $15 for wine pairings. To reserve a seat, email: info@canerossosf.com.

June 5 , Kiino will take over the Slow Club in San Francisco, for seatings at 6 p.m. and 8:15 p.m. The $55 three-course prix fixe (which includes cocktail pairings) will feature slow-cooked spring lamb with chicories and black olives. For reservations, email: info@canerossosf.com.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being invited as a guest of Cane Rosso to its first wine dinner. The dinner spotlighted Romililly Wines of the Russian River Valley, which was started in 2006 by brothers, Aaron and Jesse Inman. The duo leases land from their uncle, Joe Briggs, who started August Briggs winery in Calistoga, which makes a fabulous Pinot Meunier, which I fell in love with a few years ago.

The name, Romililly, is an amalgamation of the three siblings’ middle names, Jesse (Ro)bert, Aaron (Mi)chael and sister Susan Lilly, who’s still too young to drink legally. The dinner was a chance to taste the creations of newbie winemakers, including an earthy, leathery, rich 2009 Romililly Piinot Noir made from 40-year-old vines.

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