Category Archives: “Take Five” Q&A

Take Five With Jessica Entzel Nolan, Former Gordon Ramsay Pastry Chef and Michelin Inspector, And Now Founder of Doughpamine

Jessica Entzel Nolan, founder of Doughpamine, holding one of her Salty Chocolate Chunk gourmet cookies. (Photo by Monica Lo)
Jessica Entzel Nolan, founder of Doughpamine, holding one of her Salty Chocolate Chunk gourmet cookies. (Photo by Monica Lo)

At age 38, Pastry Chef Jessica Entzel Nolan of Novato has already racked up an illustrious culinary career that would be the envy of many.

Not only has she worked in the pastry department at the celebrated restaurants of Wolfgang Puck (Minneapolis’ 20.21 in the Walker Art Center), Jean-Georges Vongerichten (Spice Market in New York City), Gordon Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay at the London in New York City), and Masaharu Morimoto (Morimoto Napa), but she also triumphed on Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen,” and fulfilled a dream of becoming an actual Michelin inspector.

Last summer, she launched the first company of her own, financing it, herself, with a small business loan. Playfully and aptly named, Doughpamine is her line of gourmet frozen cookie dough, now sold at 55 stores in the Bay Area, including Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco; Berkeley Bowl in Berkeley; Draeger’s stores on the Peninsula; and New Leaf markets in Santa Cruz and Aptos. The frozen cookie bags are also sold on the Doughpamine site for shipping nationwide.

The cookie dough comes in four flavors: the best-selling Miso Peanut Butter (salty-sweet-savory and buttery tasting); Salty Chocolate Chunk (comes with a tiny bag of Maldon to sprinkle on before baking); Rhapsody Road (super chocolatey with gooey marshmallows and crunchy almonds), and my personal favorite of Blueberry Corn (tastes like a quintessential corn muffin in cookie form).

The frozen cookie dough comes in resealable bags. (photo by Carolyn Jung)
The frozen cookie dough comes in resealable bags. (Photo by Carolyn Jung)

Bake as many as you want, whenever you want, in a 375-degree oven (either convection or non-convection) for fresh, warm cookies that are crispy on the outside and gooey-soft within, or as Entzel Nolan describes “medium-rare” perfection.

Look for the cookies served at San Francisco’s Flour & Water Pizzeria and the Bay Area’s Square Pie Guys, too.

Recently, I had a chance to chat with her about her childhood baking endeavors, what it was like working with world-renowned chefs, what it takes to be a Michelin inspector, and the meet-cute way she and her husband connected — and yes, it did involve food.

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Take Five with the One and Only Nobu Matsuhisa

Chef Nobu Matsuhisa in the new garden dining space at Nobu Palo Alto.
Chef Nobu Matsuhisa in the new garden dining space at Nobu Palo Alto.

Much like Madonna, Adele and Beyonce, this storied chef is so recognized the globe over that you know him readily by simply his first name.

The one and only Nobu Matsuhisa came to town this week to christen the new Japanese-inspired outdoor garden dining space at his Nobu Palo Alto restaurant and hotel, completely transforming what was formerly a florist shop into a zen oasis.

If you have an appetite for fine Japanese cuisine, you owe a debt of gratitude to him. If you appreciate impeccable sushi and sashimi, especially done with groundbreaking global influences such as jalapenos, olive oil, garlic, and lemon, you have him to thank for introducing this new style. Matsuhisa helped turn what was once considered exotic into a mainstay of which we now can’t get enough.

His accomplishments are nothing short of breathtaking, opening 21 restaurants in the United States and Canada alone, not to mention 16 in Europe; five in Mexico and the Caribbean; six in the Middle East and Africa; and eight in Asia and Australia. In all, 56 restaurants across the globe. Moreover, his hotel in downtown Palo Alto is one of 34 operating or in process of opening worldwide.

The Palo Alto restaurant is one of 56 Nobu locations worldwide.
The Palo Alto restaurant is one of 56 Nobu locations worldwide.

It’s been quite the journey for Matsuhisa, one that began with the most challenging of circumstances in Japan, when he lost his father at age 8 in a motorcycle accident, only later to get expelled from high school for acting out. Looking to turn his life around at 18, he moved to Tokyo to apprentice in a sushi restaurant. What followed next were a series of soaring highs and crushing blows — moving to Lima to open his first restaurant, only to have that business partnership dissolve badly, then relocating to Alaska to open a Japanese restaurant, only to see it destroyed in an accidental fire less than two months later.

Eventually, armed with a green card, he immigrated to Southern California with his wife and two young daughters for a fresh start. In 1987 he opened Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills. There, a regular nudged him repeatedly to open an outpost in New York until he agreed to do so, debuting restaurant Nobu in Manhattan in 1994. That regular was none other than actor Robert DeNiro, who would go on to partner with Matsuhisa in all his future projects and be instrumental in steering him to opening hotels, too.

Yesterday, I had a chance to spend a few minutes with Matsuhisa in the tranquil garden with its decorative bronze gate, seasonal blooms, and boulders that were hand-picked and flown in from Japan.

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Take Five with Pastry Chef Guillermo Soto Torres of the Four Seasons Silicon Valley

Pastry Chef Guillermo Soto Torres with mini versions of his new holiday buche de Noel.
Pastry Chef Guillermo Soto Torres with mini versions of his new holiday buche de Noel.

It’s a good bet that Guillermo Soto Torres is one of the few — if not only — pastry chefs in the Bay Area with a degree in telematics, the interdisciplinary field that combines telecommunications, vehicular technologies, electrical engineering, and computer science.

He had hardly stepped foot into that scientific career, though, when he made a major pivot to use his knack for precision in a whole different way. He started working in a chocolate shop in his native Mexico, then began studying baking books. It wasn’t long before he jumped full bore into pastry making about 15 years ago.

That led to stints at Four Seasons hotels in Costa Rica and Florida, before coming two years ago to the Four Seasons Silicon Valley in East Palo Alto to become head pastry chef.

Earlier this week, the 36-year-old chef invited me and two other media colleagues into his hotel kitchen to watch and learn as he made what will be the stunning centerpiece dessert for Christmas Eve dinner and the Christmas Day buffet — the buche de Noel.

A flourless chocolate cake version done up in a shiny white chocolate glaze with crunchy, dehydrated raspberries.
A flourless chocolate cake version done up in a shiny white chocolate glaze with crunchy, dehydrated raspberries.

His version of the classic French yule log cake is comprised of a flourless chocolate cake on a base of crispy hazelnut feuilletine (crunchy crepe shards) that’s rolled around chestnut cream and an anise-flavored orange compote before it’s all enrobed in shiny white chocolate glaze and holiday garnishes. To serve all the expected guests on those two days, he will make 100 of them.

He talked about his favorite ingredient to work with, the one that’s he’s allergic to, the one dessert he could eat every single day, and the rather ill-fated day that he began working at the Silicon Valley hotel.

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Take Five with Chef Gloria Dominguez About Closing Her Oakland Restaurant And New Beginnings

Chef Gloria Dominguez, who nutured Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana for 14 years. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)
Chef Gloria Dominguez, who nutured Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana for 14 years. (Photo by Eva Kolenko)

Chef Gloria Dominguez was nearly set to sign a lease for a restaurant space in Tucson, AZ in 2005 when her architect son Alfonso called to stop her. He had found the perfect place in Old Oakland, a Victorian with soaring ceilings and immense possibility. No matter if the neighborhood was rather a ghost town back then with empty storefronts all around, Gloria and Alfonso believed in it.

They put their heart and soul into creating Tamarindo Antojeria Mexicana. They transformed the space into a vibrant oasis with a pressed tin ceiling, vivid canvasses, and artsy white-washed wood chairs that Alfonso made himself. He created what’s thought to be the first Mezcal-focused bar in the area, serving up inventive cocktails to be enjoyed as old black and white Mexican movies projected on one of the walls of the lounge. Gloria attracted crowds, including the coaches and players of the Golden State Warriors, for her authentic chiles en nogada and chicken mole.

But now after 14 years, they plan to close the restaurant, following notice from their landlord that their rent was not only going to increase, but that they were limited to a two-year lease.

The restaurant’s last dinner service will be Nov. 30. After that, the restaurant will be available for private bookings through the end of December. The bar will be open during limited hours, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays until the end of the year. And a special mezcal and tequila tasting on Dec. 8. Tickets are $55 each.

I had a chance to get to know Gloria when I profiled her in my cookbook, “East Bay Cooks: Signature Recipes from the Best Restaurants, Bars, and Bakeries” (Figure 1). Last week, I had a chance to talk to her about the restaurant’s impending closure and what the future holds.

Q: How hard of a decision was this to make?             

A: Very, very difficult. Every day, I couldn’t sleep. It really hurt my son, too. There are so many beautiful memories here and all the graduations, proposals, bridal showers and weddings that were celebrated. People have been coming by with tears in their eyes and choking up.

Sometimes I think that things happen for a reason, though. I think better things will come along. Some investors who are doing projects in San Francisco and Walnut Creek have already approached us. We haven’t made any decisions. We’lll just see how it goes. We don’t want to rush into things.

Q: You still have your other restaurant in Antioch?

A: Yes, Taqueria Salsa, which we opened in 1988, which is much more casual. When we first opened, it was going to be everything with masa — like gorditas and sopes. But then we started selling burritos for the students and the Kaiser employees. Everyone always wants burritos. They are the Mexican burger. (laughs)

Q: When Tamarindo closes, what will you do with your time?

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Take Five With Chefs Graham Elliot, Lincoln Carson, Michelle Karr-Ueoka, and Rory Hermann

Chef Graham Elliot, who is hilarious. Note the shirt.

Chef Graham Elliot, who is hilarious. Note the shirt.

 

MAUI, HAWAII — This year’s Maui portion of the Hawaii Food & Wine Festival featured an impressive line-up of illustrious chefs.

I had a chance to sit down with four of them last week: Graham Elliott who’s become one of the most recognizable faces, thanks to his stints judging “MasterChef” and “Top Chef”; Rory Hermann, director of culinary operations for Sprout Restaurant Group in Los Angeles, which includes Otium, Bestia, Republique, Barrel & Ashes, and the Rose Cafe; Lincoln Carson, one of the nation’s premier pastry chefs who worked for eight years with the Michael Mina Group, and now has his own Lincoln Heavy Industries Pastry & Hospitality Consulting company in Los Angeles; and Pastry Chef Michelle Karr-Ueoka, who owns MW Restaurant in Honolulu with her husband, Wade Ueoka.

They were all part of the festival’s “A Chef’s Paradise. The walk-around evening repast, held on the lawn at the Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa, featured cocktails, wines, and creative bites.

The chefs talked about their favorite Hawaiian ingredients, their guilty pleasures, and more. Carson and Karr-Ueoka also confirmed that they will be partnering with Michael Mina to open specialty food boutiques in his The Street, a gourmet food hall, in the newly transformed International Market Place in Honolulu. Look for The Street to open sometime in the first half of 2017. It will join Mina’s StripSteak, which opened its doors there earlier this summer.

Elliot's dish of Hawaiian Kajiki (blue marlin) crudo with toasted coconut, Maui lilikoi, and whipped avocado.

Elliot’s dish of Hawaiian Kajiki (blue marlin) crudo with toasted coconut, Maui lilikoi, and whipped avocado.

Graham Elliot

Q: What’s it been like for you to be on all of these TV cooking competition shows?

A: It’s super fun. I get to be myself on them. I want to educate people about cooking. If you have a contestant on “MasterChef,” the worst thing you can do is s–t on them about making something awful. Instead, I try to tell them how it could be better.

Q: Your favorite Hawaiian ingredient?

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