Josiah Slone’s story is that of a local boy done good. Born in San Francisco, and raised on the Peninsula, he had a pretty good idea even as a child that he wanted to be a chef one day.
You see, while other kids were watching Looney Toons, he was tuning into the cooking shows of Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and Martin Yan.
After stints in Santa Monica and Jamaica, the 31-year-old chef opened his first restaurant, Saratoga’s Sent Sovi in 2003, realizing his dream of having his own place in his home area.
I sat down with him to chat about the cookbook that changed his life, studying electrical engineering in college, and how everyone else — except him — felt the pressure when he bought Chef David Kinch’s famed Sent Sovi restaurant.
Q: You actually read the “The Joy of Cooking (Scribner) when you were a kid?
A: I looked through it when I was a really little kid, before I could read very well. It was this big book, and it had two red ribbons in it to mark your place. The old one had menus for bridge parties and afternoon tea. It reminded me of going to my grandma’s house.
I remember cooking out of it when I was in the 6th grade. I made meatloaf out of it, and cookies. It was my Mom’s go-to cookbook. We still have a copy of the “Joy of Cooking” in the kitchen at Sent Sovi. I also took “Joy of Cooking” to Jamaica with me.
Q: Did your Mom inspire you to cook?
A: (laughs) My Mom did cook. She likes to say “I taught him everything I know about cooking. It wasn’t very much.”
Q: You’re a Bay Area native. Do you think that’s also a reason why you’re so into food?
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