Tag Archives: Chef Rogelio Garcia

Squash Blossom and Maitake Rice Pilaf From A Michelin-Starred Chef

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Squash blossoms, maitakes, zucchini, and cotija cheese make this rice dish so flavorful and beautiful.
Squash blossoms, maitakes, zucchini, and cotija cheese make this rice dish so flavorful and beautiful.

Bay Area nominees at this year’s James Beard Awards for restaurants and chefs disappointingly came away empty-handed.

But one huge bright spot came at the foundation’s media awards, when Chef Rogelio Garcia of Michelin-starred Auro in Calistoga strode across the stage to accept a James Beard Award for his first cookbook, “Convivir: Modern Mexican Cuisine in California’s Wine Country” (Cameron Company, 2024).

Written with Andrea Lawson Gray, a San Francisco cookbook writer and food historian, this gorgeous, coffee table book, of which I received a review copy, is a collection of more than 150 recipes inspired by the Mexican diaspora that has shaped our foodways profoundly, especially in California.

The title references the Spanish word that means “to live together,” a sentiment with even greater weight and poignancy in these fraught times.

The book is a salute to the many Mexican Americans who have come to Wine Country to work the land, pick the grapes, and create the wines and foods that are appreciated the world over.

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Dining At Calistoga’s Only Michelin-Starred Restaurant

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A5 Wagyu cap with caviar on a tiny oyster cracker -- one of the first bites at Auro.
A5 Wagyu cap with caviar on a tiny oyster cracker — one of the first bites at Auro.

It took only eight months after opening for Auro at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley to garner a Michelin star, making it the only Calistoga restaurant so honored.

It’s been a long time in coming for Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia, who was born in Mexico City and grew up in the Napa Valley. Last year, he returned to Wine Country to open this fine-dining restaurant after honing his skills at the such revered establishments as the original Cyrus in Healdsburg, the French Laundry in Yountville, Spruce in San Francisco, and Luce in San Francisco.

This marks the first star he’s earned.

And what a triumph it has been, as evidenced by the superlative meal I experienced when I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant earlier this month.

Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia stands underneath his first Michelin star.
Executive Chef Rogelio Garcia stands underneath his first Michelin star.

Pull up to the roundabout driveway of the country-chic resort, and you’ll find the restaurant off to the right. Auro shares the same pristine kitchen as the resort’s casual restaurant, Truss.

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