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When did you start in the
industry?
It
was 1996 and I was 22. It was my last year of college at
Humboldt
State in
Arcata, CA. Although I was a
wellness and nutrition major I really didn’t know what
direction I wanted to go professionally but I really
loved to cook. My childhood had fond kitchen memories- I
even prepared coursed out meals at home when I was a
teenager, so my last semester of school I took a job at
a restaurant prepping vast amounts of vegetables at a
high volume meat & potato place called the Sea Grill
and really enjoyed it. After that I moved back to
Sacramento and landed a
job at Enotria when Robert Perez of Citronée was chef
there- he outlined for me what it would take to be
successful in this
industry.
In
1998 I went to work for Randall Selland at The Kitchen.
I learned a lot there prepping for the demonstration
dinners. We also did lots of catering- it truly was an
education in organization. I was there five years and it
solidified me in the industry. I then went to work for
Randall at his upscale Market/Café “Selland’s”. This
experience with Chef Sellend helped me to realize how
diverse this industry really is. I also got to travel to
Europe during this
period and it broadened my horizons on food and
eating.
In
2004 I helped open the CO-OP in Elk Grove as the kitchen
manager. I did a lot of supervising/paperwork. I learned
a lot about running a business and received education on
sustainable and organic products. I loved the hours too-
Monday thru Friday, but alas this was not what I really
wanted to do; I wanted the challenge of running an
upscale restaurant kitchen and also becoming part of a
up and coming food culture in my hometown of Sacramento.
When
a former colleague at the Kitchen, Marcus Marquez and
his wife Kolea, told me they had a restaurant/wine bar
in the works and that they wanted me to develop the menu
as their Chef then I jumped at the opportunity! My
husband and I became pregnant so I took some time off
while they got the project together. That project became
the L Wine Lounge & Urban Kitchen in Mid Town
Sacramento.
The
concept has evolved a bit but is focused on small
plates, wine pairings, and sustainability. This town is
all about a single destination dining experience instead
of hopping around in the same evening to several
establishments like they do in the Bay Area, so we try
to cover the bases and offer variety. We would like to
connect Sacramento food
culture to the Napa and
San
Francisco dining experience.
Culinary
highlights:
·
Getting
my job at Enotria under Chef Perez- the first fine
dining establishment I was able to work at.
·
Pulling
off my first catering job- 150 ppl wedding.
·
The
River City Café in London- finally I’m in Europe!
What chefs influenced you the
most?
Deborah
Madison, Randall Selland, Robert Perez, and Julia
Childs.
If you could keep only 3
culinary books, what would they
be?
- Deborah
Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
- LuLu’s
Provencal Table
- The
Food Lover’s Companion.
Favorite kitchen
gadget
Anti
gadget really…….but, OK- a Japanese mortar
& pestle
Most memorable dining
experience
In
Barcelona- The Rick Steves tour guide book suggested a
little hole in the wall place that had the most
authentic regional Spanish food made right there by
grandma herself and homemade wine to boot– it cost us
like $10 but was simple and simply
amazing!
Favorite ‘elbows on the
table hole in the
wall’
That
means two things to me- elbows on table means
comfortable: Chef Rick Mahan’s Waterboy. As far as “hole
in the wall”- a Mexican taqueria called El
Herradura.
A food item you hate to admit
to liking
I
don’t know really. I eat pretty healthy but there’s just
something about pizza with ranch
dressing.
Three things in fridge right
now:
wine,
water, mustard
Secret junk food indulgence:
lots
of chocolate! (But I don’t call it an indulgence
per se because it’s really not that bad for
you…)
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Chef Harrington on
Preferred Meats:
“I
have never been disappointed with Preferred Meats and I
never have to return product. The integrity of their
line is exceptional and they carry all I need in
sustainable meats. Their product representation is also
outstanding. Simply put, my time is not wasted when I do
business with Preferred.”
Ame Harrington
Executive
Chef
L Wine Lounge & Urban
Kitchen
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