Scenes from Chefs’ Holidays, Part I: With Sons & Daughters, The Meatball Shop and The Hungry Cat

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Seared albacore with yogurt, dates and blood orange by Chef David Lentz of The Hungry Cat.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA — Serene, peaceful and magical. That’s what it’s like here in this winter wonderland.

But inside the grand Ahwahnee Hotel, the national historic landmark that opened in 1927, it’s a hive of activity at this time of year, as some of the most noted chefs from around the country make a pilgrimage here to give demos and to cook gala dinners for the public.

Yours truly was honored to be invited to be the host for two of the sessions last week for the 28th annual Chefs’ Holidays, which takes place each year throughout the month of January.

For the chefs, it’s always a fun time. They bring their spouses and kids to make a working holiday of it. For some of the chefs, it was a return visit. For others, it was their first time to Yosemite.

The Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite National Park. When it opened in 1927, rooms could be had for $5-$50.

Yosemite Falls.

All of them pulled off their demos like the pros that they are. You’d never know how nervous a few were before they took the stage. One chef said he started prepping extra early because he was so jittery he couldn’t sleep the night before. Another chef said she’d rather cook three gala dinners in a row than do one cooking demo because she always gets so anxious beforehand.

(L to R): Matt McNamara of Sons & Daughters; Duncan Holmes, chef de cuisine of Sons & Daughters; Daniel Holzman of The Meatball Shop; David Lentz of The Hungry Cat; and Lentz's son.

Matt McNamara, co-chef and co-founder of Sons & Daughters in San Francisco, kicked off the session by demonstrating how to make “Squab with Marcona Almond Puree, Pickled Fennel, and Citrus” and “Roasted Baby Beets with Pickled Mustard Seeds and Vadauvan.”

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From High-Tech to Chocolate

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Shortbread cookies by Kika's Treats that are enrobed in Dandelion chocolate.

After Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring co-founded Plaxo, the online social address book, then sold it for a gazillion bucks, what was left for them to do?

Travel the world?

Catch up on lost sleep?

Compete in triathlons?

How about start a chocolate factory?

Yup, they did exactly the latter in 2010 when they founded Dandelion Chocolate, which moved its factory only last year to San Francisco’s Mission District.

A true bean-to-bar endeavor, it had its beginnings in a Silicon Valley garage, appropriately enough, before moving to its present location, a much larger garage on Valencia Street, the former Excellent Automotive Service and Repair.

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Valentine’s Treats at Baker & Banker, and More

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Red Hot Red Velvet and Strawberry-Champagne cupcakes from Baker & Banker. (Photo courtesy of the restaurant)

Never too Early To Think About Valentine’s Day Treats

Especially when it comes to holiday treats from San Francisco’s Baker & Banker bakery.

While Chef-Owner Jeff Banker will be offering a five-course tasting menu on Valentine’s Day, his wife, Pastry Chef-Owner Lori Baker will be whipping up a bevy of specialty baked goods.

They include an adorable Conversation Heart Cake (red velvet caked with cream cheese frosting or dark chocolate cake with ganache frosting — both shaped like hearts; 6-inch one for $50 or 10-inch one for $85), as well as Red Hot Red Velvet cupcakes ($14 for four), Strawberry Champagne Cupcakes ($14 for four), and a passion fruit cheesecake with guava caramel (a 6-inch one for $30 or a 10-inch one for $50).

Passion fruit cheesecake. (Photo courtesy of Baker & Banker)

Reserve your picks ahead of time to ensure they’re available when you drop by the bakery.

Islands Opens First Bay Area Locale

The beach-themed burger joint, Islands, which started in Los Angeles, has opened its first Bay Area location — at the Crossroads Shopping Center, 20750 Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino.

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Get Your Mixing Bowls Ready: Apple Pumpkin Walnut Muffins

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Moist apple pumpkin muffins crowned with a walnut half.

There are muffins these days that could double as dessert.

You know the ones I mean — the ones we all fall for because they’re covered in irresistible streusel or sugary glaze that we con ourselves into thinking are still perfect breakfast food.

These are not those kinds of muffins.

“Apple Pumpkin Walnut Muffins” are not overly sweet, especially because I was forced to cut the light brown sugar amount in half when I realized my box was nearly depleted and I was too lazy to run to the store. (Hey, what can I say?) But you can use the full 1/2 cup measure of brown sugar plus 1/2 cup granulated and they’d still be far from sugar bombs.

Pinata apples from Washington State.

The recipe is from “The Apple Lover’s Cookbook” (W.W. Norton & Company) by Amy Traverso. The book, of which I received a review copy, has become my go-to source for apple recipes, what with its range from savory apple uses (“Duck Panzanella with Apples and Thyme” to sweet ones (“Rustic Apple Brown Betty”).

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Ineeka Puts Innovation Into Tea

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A new type of tea bag from Ineeka.

It opens up like a miniature grocery bag with handles to sit squarely in your mug of hot water.

Inside of it, organic tea leaves swell and swirl, steeping an exquisitely fresh tasting brew that’s smooth, satisfying and noticeably less tannic.

Take a taste of Ineeka teas, founded by a husband and wife team in Chicago whose families have been in the tea business for generations.

Shashank and Sumita Goel tout their company as the only completely vertically-integrated tea brand in North America. That means they grow their tea on family farms along 15,000 acres in the Himalayas north of India and package the teas, themselves.

Ineeka (“little Earth” in Sanskrit”) grows their tea organically and biodynamically in self-contained systems. For instance, the animals on the farms eat the food grown on the farms. In turn, their manure fertilizes the soil. The company employs 25,000 people who also live on the farms. As Fair Trade certified, the company pays higher than wages than the industry norm, too.

But of course, the proof is in the taste.

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