Category Archives: Chefs

A Visit to the 26th Annual Chefs’ Holidays in Yosemite

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Yosemite in winter.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA — Imagine hiking, snowshoeing and skiing, then dining on creative fare from celeb chefs — all in a breathtakingly spectacular setting.

That’s what Yosemite National Park is all about in the winter, when its “Chefs’ Holidays” takes place at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel, now through Feb. 4. Marking its 26th year, the event features 29 prominent chefs from around the country.

Three chefs are featured per session, which includes a “Meet the Chefs” reception, three cooking demonstrations, a five-course gala dinner with wines in the grand Ahwahnee dining room, and a tour of the hotel’s massive kitchen.

And what a hotel it is. Opened in 1927 with a concrete and steel frame designed to withstand fire, it cost $1.25 million to build or the equivalent of $19 million in today’s dollars. During a year of construction, costs grew and the project had to be scaled back. The building went from a planned 10 stories to seven. Although the kitchen had already been built, the dining room was reduced to a third of its original size to about 300 seats, as opposed to the original 1,000. As a result, the kitchen is actually 200 square feet larger than the main dining room.

All bread is made in-house. The starter for the sourdough dates back to the 1890s.

A large copper mixing bowl, original to the hotel kitchen.

An original ice box, used before modern-day refrigeration. In the summer, huge blocks of ice had to be sent via railroad from San Francisco.

Yours truly was lucky enough to be invited as a guest to the second of the eight sessions planned. This one, held during the second week of January, featured chefs Michael Tusk of Quince in San Francisco; Jesse Cool of Flea St. Cafe in Menlo Park; and Colin Ambrose of Estia’s Little Kitchen in Sag Harbor, NY.

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Noshing Around Quebec City

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A private dinner with the chef at Panache restaurant in Quebec City.

QUEBEC CITY, CANADA –It’s easy to build up an appetite, strolling around this historic city in the chill of winter. And one of the best and most fortifying meals I had on my trip to this capital city was at the artsy Panache restaurant.

The restaurant is located inside the luxe Auberge Saint-Antoine hotel, just steps from the edge of the St. Lawrence River in the old port district. Indeed, in the 1800s, the impressive stone building served as a maritime trading center for glassware and tableware merchants. During the construction of the hotel, plates, vases and other pottery were unearthed, which are now carefully displayed throughout the hotel. Even the hotel room numbers have little antique chunks of porcelain highlighted next to them.

My fellow food writers and I — all guests on this trip courtesy of Quebec City Tourism — had the pleasure not only of dining at the restaurant one night, but eating in a private room with the chef, Francois Blais, during what would be his last week at the restaurant. Blais, who opened the restaurant eight years ago, felt it was time for a change. But don’t be surprised if he opens his own, more casual restaurant in Quebec in the near future.

Chef Francois Blais doing the honors.

Blais has been a pioneer in Quebec City when it comes to sourcing local ingredients within 100 miles from small family producers and championing sustainable seafood. The dinner was testament to that dedication.

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Get Ready — Tickets to Pigs & Pinot to Go on Sale

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A gathering of chefs from last year's event: (L to R) Roland Passot, Charlie Palmer, Bryan Voltaggio, Kevin Gillespie and Tyler Florence. (Photo courtesy of Charlie Palmer)

Yup, you gotta be fast, as this porky-palooza is so popular that tickets sell out in a snap. This year, there’s even a new lottery system for hotel packages because demand is just that high.

But then again, that’s not surprising, given that Chef Charlie Palmer’s sixth annual “Pigs & Pinot,” March 18-19, will bring together the best Pinots from more than 60 wineries and 10 top chefs to cook up a feast of porky goodness.

Among this year’s participating chefs are: Bryan Voltaggio (“Top Chef” finalist and chef-owner of Volt restaurant); his brother, Michael Voltaggio (who won “Top Chef”); Nancy Oakes of Boulevard restaurant; and Philippe Rispoli of France.

Sommeliers, including William Sherer of Aureole in Las Vegas and Fred Dame of Foster’s Wine Estates, will be lending their vino expertise.

Additionally, just like last year, Palmer is even raising two suckling pigs for the event, which are getting fattened up on trimmings from his Dry Creek Kitchen restaurant, as well as on spent barley and grain from nearby Bear Republic Brewing Company.

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New Cooking Classes at Berkeley’s eVe Restaurant

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Prosciutto and melon soup at eVe restaurant. (Photo by Nick Vasilopoulus)

Who wouldn’t want to learn how to cook from a husband-wife chef team who have worked at the likes of Georges Blanc in France, and Charlie Trotter’s and Everest, both in Chicago?

You can, now that Chefs Christopher and Veronica Laramie of eVe in Berkeley have started offering once-a-month cooking classes at their intimate 28-seat restaurant. Likewise, their classes will be equally personalized in that each is limited to only 10 students.

Chef-Owners Christopher and Veronica Laramie of eVe. (Photo by Nick Vasilopoulus)

You have the choice of meeting at the restaurant at 11 a.m. or meeting the two chefs at 10 a.m. at the Berkeley Farmers Market to help choose produce for that day’s class. Then, you’ll roll up your sleeves to get cooking in this hands-on class that lasts until 2:30 p.m. After all the cooking is done, you’ll sit down with the Laramies to enjoy a cozy lunch featuring the dishes you and your classmates have made.

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Michael Mina Comes Full Circle

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Rib eye with bone marrow and pommes fondant at Michael Mina.

When San Francisco top toque, Michael Mina, opened his flagship, eponymous restaurant in 2004 in the Westin St. Francis on Union Square, it was in a hushed, luxe space all done up in elegant white and pale blue, with crisp tablecloths, elaborate china and one-of-a-kind serving pieces.

Then, when Michael Mina Restaurant moved late last year to the California Street location once home to Aqua restaurant, where Mina first made a name for himself, along with it came a new incarnation of the restaurant. Out went the tablecloths; in went unadorned dark walnut tables. The gleaming china was replaced by rough-hewn, handmade Japanese plateware. And the tempo of the restaurant went up decidedly with the now-lively bar with pop music audible throughout the dining room.

Just don’t call the ambiance “casual,” jokes Ryan Cole, general manager of the restaurant. Chef Mina, he notes, prefers the term, “relaxed,” to reflect the less fussy attitude that today’s diners want in a fine-dining restaurant.

The redone dining room.

Just before Christmas, I was invited to dine as a guest of the restaurant. Just months before, I’d also had the opportunity to dine as a guest at Mina’s new Bourbon Steak, which took the place of Michael Mina Restaurant in the Westin St. Frances last year. The food at both was top-notch. But interestingly enough, if I had to choose one of the two to return to on my own dime, I’d most likely give the edge to Bourbon Steak. It’s slightly cheaper, with more options, and food that provided a bit more “wow.”

The evening's amuse bouche.

Right after we were seated at Michael Mina, just steps from the Mandarin Oriental San Francisco, a gourmet version of a homespun classic arrived. The amuse that night was a tiny cup of beluga lentil soup with a dainty grilled cheese-prosciutto sandwich.

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