What drew you to the industry and why become a Chef?

I got a job at a place called Schooner’s while in high school. It was not my intention to necessarily become a cook, I just needed a job and I wasn’t really intending to do this long term and then after doing it day in and out, year in and year out, you start to appreciate working with food. After a while having gone away from the business and then coming back I started to realize perhaps this is what I really am cut out for.

After leaving Schooner’s I got a cooking job at a place called Elizabeth Daniel’s also in Sacramento, which was where the convention center is now downtown. I then bounced around to various places before leaving Sac, like Shot of Class, Tower Café, 1201 K, and eventually MORTON’S of Chicago. It was 1991 and I became a corporate sous chef for MORTON’S and opened about a dozen restaurants for them.

In 1994, I decided I’d had enough of that and so having a friend in Italy I decided to pack up my bags and headed to Venice for a while and worked in a little osteria called Paradiso Perduto. I just soaked up the food, wine and culture. From the fresh seafood to the home made pasta, the whole experience completely changed the way I felt about food and dining. The commitment to the ingredients and the centuries of tradition, this really made an impact on me.

When I came back to the States the climate here was pretty tough on cooks and I really had not gained my direction on what I was going to do even though Italy had given me a different perspective. In 1998 I decided to pack my knives away and head to the Central Coast and attend UC Santa Cruz, where I got an honors degree in economics. It was Janel that motivated me to give college a try.  But here we go, even through school I kept getting pulled back to cooking as I worked for a few different caterers and cooked my way through the college years.

I actually liked catering as I got to work on the floor as well as the kitchen and that started to draw me back to the industry in a different way, as I was looking people in the eye that were eating what we had prepared there was a new connection that brought things full circle, a new sense of responsibility to the diner, and I began to think that perhaps I wanted to do this as my career after all. The whole process started to make sense and resonate with me. My last year or so in college I started mentally applying my economic studies to the hospitality industry. Actually I never could see myself in a bank or behind a desk, but you definitely need to have business savvy to be successful in the restaurant world.

The plan was to come back to Sacramento and open a Hawaiian style casual eatery, so in 2003 Janel and I went to Hawaii to work and put together a business plan then come back and open a place. We moved there for about a year, I actually worked the front of the house in a nice Italian restaurant in Honolulu. This restaurant was probably more authentic than you might think because it catered to a lot of Japanese tourists and they view Hawaii as a gateway to western culture, which includes European culture and food. They are very particular about integrity in cuisine, and are huge fans of Italian cuisine so we had to be on top of it. It actually was closer to what I’d experienced in Venice than Italian restaurants I’d been to on the mainland. Working front of the house really helped bring everything together in my mind also.

We came back to the mainland in 2004 and went to work for our former caterer in Saratoga because they called and wanted us back. After about a month and a half we decided that we were going to change our business plan. L & L’s were opening all over and we realized this may not be the best move to open a Hawaiian style grill, the climate didn’t feel right, the economy didn’t feel right, and we had a lot of experience doing catering. It also seemed the most economically feasible way to go- the pieces just came together. So we moved back to Sacramento, put our best foot forward and opened Magpie Caterers and later the Café.

What we had envisioned was really a local cuisine. The yellow billed magpie is endemic to California and is really only found around Sacramento. We try to use local ingredients as much as possible and really highlight the flavors of the region. For example one of our cooks said that whenever he was using fennel or salmon the aromas flashed him over to the American River, which runs through Sacramento. This made sense because wild fennel grows all over the place down there and the salmon run the river- so really the salmon paired with fennel is intrinsically local and Sacramento fare. Look where we set up our place, in an old Sacramento brown stone. We use the local rice- the sushi rice, the black Japanese rice- the bounty of the area, some of the best produce in the world comes from here. I mean persimmons, quince, Myer lemons- these are not things Sacramentans see in a magazine- they grow in their backyards! We also can go in various directions with our preparations because of the ethnic diversity of the city. We are not trying to be Napa, San Francisco, Seattle, or any other place. We did not open a magazine and say hey, let’s try and be this. I think we are staying true to the region, what is found here, and what Sacramentans enjoy eating on a regular basis- super good ingredients prepared well and uncomplicated. Coming home to Sacramento has been great.  This is a great place to start a small business. It has been a very successful combination for us. After all these years I must still love being in the kitchen.  It seems like I'm always daydreaming about how to make Magpie a little better!

How would you define your style?

Uncomplicated. Not simple, as there are sometimes many steps to making good uncomplicated food- like tying, searing, braising, cooling, reducing- but not contrived. I also view my style as ‘wonky’- I mean I’m kinda thick and chunky- (LOL!) So I force my crew to produce food that is how would you say…cumbersome? I like it to look good but not super refined on the plate- I like to convey thought in the food and it coming together on the plate in kind of a natural way. You’re gonna just have to come in for dinner and see!

What do you like most/least about being the boss?

MOST: It’s defining for me when I work with my crew and be able to inspire them in consistently reproducing the same dish over and over. I think there is accomplishment in consistency. I love working with people and like to be able to see the fruits of what has come together and have a direct impact on the business. I also am not afraid on interacting with a guest who has had a bad experience and be able to correct the problem. The buck has to stop somewhere, right?

LEAST: The balance of laying down the discipline and keeping your crew happy and feeling wanted. It is a difficult balance sometimes.

What chefs influenced you the most?

·         Well, I’d had have to include YOU- You got me my first job!

·         Chris Rook- Corporate Chef at MORTON’S. He taught me consistency.

·         Richard Gatto- at the Delta King. He felt chefs were cooks and their main job was to keep their heads down, work and make people happy.

If you could keep only 3 culinary books, what would they be?

Actually it is many and yet one- the entire TIME LIFE culinary series.  Also my 1961 Larousse Gastronomique.   A lot of the culinary arts are timeless.  It is nice to see the connection to the past.  We are lucky to be part of a craft that has had such a long tradition.

Favorite kitchen gadget:

French Knife

If you were not a chef what would you do?

A maitre’d.  I’d probably be a pretty awkward one though!

Culinary trends that bug you/ trends you like:

BUG: Cupcakes- enough already! It’s the big trend and a lot of them are not very good.

LIKE: I like the trend back to eating the whole animal, using organ meats, things like that.

An ingredient that you’re attached to:

Pimenton – smoked paprika. Also, rice wine vinegar.

Most memorable dining experience:

2002- there was this taco truck in Baja. Janel and I drove down- it was this little ‘in the middle of nowhere’ town and there was this taco truck there that served fish tacos. It’s like this thing fell out of the sky- it was immaculate! The hot sauce containers were full and super clean and wiped down, the stainless was polished, it was unbelievable and the fish tacos were absolutely exceptional- fresh local fish, fried light and crisp, the cabbage was delicious, the radishes great. I was the one experience that has stuck in my mind above the others.

Favorite ‘elbows on the table hole in the wall’:

There’s this Vietnamese place on Stockton Blvd in Sac that I can’t pronounce the name of- great regional food, the menu is pictures- I point to the first picture on the menu every time and it’s always fantastic!

A food item you hate to admit to liking:

The WHOPPER.  Although I haven’t had one in at least two years.  Should go see if I still like them!

Three things in fridge right now:

Wasabi pickled green beans, sheep yogurt, soy milk.

Secret junk food indulgence:

Breakfast sandwich at AMPM at 3 in the morning!  Earlier this year I kinda went on a mission to try every breakfast sandwich in Sacramento.  This was definitely the junkiest.