tyler florence

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NOVEMBER 2010
P E N I N S U L A • S A N F R A N C I S C O • S I L I C O N VA L L E Y
FOOD AND WINE ISSUE • JEWELRY
TYLER
FLORENCE
Dishing Up Greatness
NOVEMBER 2010
WWW.GENTRYMAGAZINE.COM
GENTRY
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contents
GENTRY
NOVEMBER 2010
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PROFILE: SAN FRANCISCO
Chefs and restaurateurs Matthew Dolan
and Chad Bourdon of Twenty Five Lusk
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PROFILE: PENINSULA
Chef Bruno Chemel of Baumé
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PROFILE: SILICON VALLEY
Restaurateurs Marietta and Pierre Bain
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TYLER TALKS
Jodi Murphy speaks with Food Network star
Tyler Florence about new restaurants, new stores,
and becoming a national brand.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Gentry’s Amalia McGibbon chats with some of the
Bay Area’s top chefs to find out what inspires them
to create the dishes that keep us coming back for more.
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RED HAUTE HOLIDAY
Silicon Valley’s Valle Monte League will celebrate 60
years of serving the community at this month’s Christmas
Tree Elegance fundraiser. Catherine Hunter reports.
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FINISHING TOUCHES
The Junior League of Palo Alto•Mid Peninsula will host their
annual holiday home tour of exquisite Atherton residences
all dressed up for the season. Gentry takes a sneak peek
at all that’s in store for this festive fundraiser.
ON THE COVER:
Chef Tyler Florence photographed at the
Christopher Peacock Showroom in San Francisco.
Photography by Jack Hutcheson.
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WWW.JACKHUTCH.COM
Chef Christopher Kostow of
Meadowood. Clothing courtesy
of Neiman Marcus, Palo Alto.
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FOOD
FOR THOUGHT
THE BAY AREA is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to chefs.
Our cup—or our plate as it were—runneth over. To those men and women
who spend 16 HOURS IN THE KITCHEN every day, who get to the
FARMER’S MARKET AT SUNRISE for first pick, who imagine 10 NEW
THINGS TO DO WITH LAMB every week—to those people, as playwright
Arthur Miller once wrote, “attention must be paid.” None of the chefs featured
in this issue have their names on the restaurant marquee. They don’t do it for
the limelight, and because of that we feel more compelled to give them some.
San Francisco might steal most of the region’s national attention, but it’s clear
to those living in Northern California that CULINARY EXCELLENCE spills
far beyond those 49 square miles. For our ANNUAL DINING ISSUE,
Gentry has chosen five chefs to represent various parts of the Bay Area:
CHEF CHRISTOPHER KOSTOW of Meadowood in the Wine Country,
DOMINIQUE CRENN from Luce in San Francisco, CHEF GUILLAUME
BIENAIMÉ from Marché in Menlo Park, CHEF JOHN PAUL CARMONA
from Manresa in Los Gatos, and CHEF MICHAEL WILD from Bay Wolf
in Oakland. They are five chefs in different stages of their careers, coming from different places and headed in different directions, united by a
common, or uncommon, achievement—COOKING SENSATIONAL FOOD.
TEXT BY AMALIA MCGIBBON | PORTRAITS BY JACK HUTCHESON
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Chef Christopher Kostow
Many of you will remember Chef Christopher Kostow from his reign at Chez TJ in Mountain View, where
he earned the restaurant its first two Michelin stars. He’s since moved on to The Restaurant at Meadowood in
Napa Valley, where the chef earned a second pair of Michelin stars and a rare four stars from the San Francisco
Chronicle. All this by the age of 33. A culinary wunderkind, I’d say. The former philosophy major takes a
thoughtful approach to cooking. Considering each dish from every vantage point—the farmer, the line cook,
the diner—Kostow creates meals that tick all the boxes. | www.meadowood.com
Quickfire:
Favorite ingredient to cook with?
That’s like asking a person to pick
a favorite child. I say “no answer.”
Favorite kitchen gadget?
Bamboo steamer.
Favorite cookbook?
Happy in the Kitchen, by Michel Richard.
Favorite guilty food pleasure?
Cereal. I could eat it all day.
How do these kinds of experiences
influence you? You don’t mimic them,
but flavor profiles will stick in your brain.
Let’s go back a bit then. What got you
into the kitchen in the first place? I
started cooking when I was 14, at the
Ravinia music festival outside of Chicago.
The thing that hooked me was this sense
of order that you can bring to a kitchen.
And that has remained a huge draw.
I’ve heard it said one never stops
learning when it comes to cooking.
Do you agree with that? What is
something you recently learned?
Problems present themselves every
day. From a physical level—how are
ingredients going to perform—to a
personal level—how are your guests
and colleagues going to behave. I learn
something new every day.
What was the most unusual item on
the Meadowood menu last year, and
what was the reaction from your
guests? We don’t try to be provocative.
We want to be evocative. Yes, we recently
served a dish with lamb neck and tongue,
but it was still beautiful, elegant, and
tasted good. The food shouldn’t require
bravery, but understanding.
What was the first astonishingly good, memorable, stopyou-in-your-tracks dish you ever had? It was a scallop dish
of sorts at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris. I was 23 years old, just out
of college and in Paris learning to cook. The dish was indicative
of what can be done with a little creativity and good technique.
How has your style changed? My style has become a lot
lighter. I’d say it’s more ephemeral, and takes into account the
perspective of the diner more. I now compose dishes from the
perspective of eating instead of cooking.
What are your plans for 2011? We are going to create a style
What is the most recent astonishingly good, stop-you-inyour-tracks dish you had? A Uni and Lardo Crostini at
of cooking that hasn’t been seen before. Oh, and I’m going on
vacation to Asia for a month!
Marea restaurant in New York.
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