Celebrity and Cooking, Big City Chefs and Rickey’s in Novato

Celebrity is probably the most fascinating force in modern times. Chefs used to be just working stiffs, unless they were the chef to the president or a king, and even then we knew little of them personally.

Now we know their hobbies, the women they marry or cheat on (don’t get me started), their deejay ambitions, their tattoos, and most of all their hunger for fame.

One of the biggest culprits in this infotainment deluge has been the Food Network, which axed a lot of the real cooks they started with to go for drama-rama. These days it’s the Housewives of New Jersey with recipes.

In that vein, I read yesterday that the actor Keanu Reeves thinks he might want to be a chef. Holy spatula!

Ah, yes join me Keanu in the kitchen where I did the glamorous work, boning out a couple of cases of chicken breasts, whisking gallons of Hollandaise for brunch and the ever popular cleaning of squid, which left me smelling like a fish market.

It appears Reeves doesn’t know how to cook from the report, but read a cookbook on molecular gastronomy “that changed his life.”

Maybe instead of starting out with sous vide, he should start by making a decent chicken stock.

And we get word that the Food Network is going to hold casting calls in several cities for their show the Next Food Network Star show, hosted by Bobby Flay for 2010. 

Drama Queens please apply. And who knows, Keanu might be one of the competitors.

Big City Chefs already has a Food Network deal and the show is set to air this fall.

Big City Chefs is a business put together by two partners in business and life, Tom Steiber and David Fischbein.

They are based in Emeryville and have personal chefs in some other cities.

On their Web site they explain what they offer: “Whether you are looking to enjoy nightly meals, dinner parties, special events, or even cooking classes, our personal chefs are committed to making it unforgettable. All of our personal chef services are specifically tailored to your unique dietary needs and preferences.”

Here is how it works:

People fill out an online registration form and they help you begin creating a personalized menu that fits your budget and lifestyle. (If you prefer, please call us toll free at 866-321-CHEF for a free consultation.)

Step 2:

We'll personally contact you within 24 hours of registration and put you in touch with a professional chef who specializes in your needs. Prior to preparing your first meals, your personal chef will help you finalize your first menu and schedule a suitable time to cook in your home. As a courtesy to you, your chef will gladly complete this process with you at your home, office, or over the phone. A personal visit is complimentary and imposes absolutely no obligation to purchase a service.

Step 3:

Your personal chef will arrive at your home loaded with farm-fresh foods, pots and pans, chefs' tools, and food containers. The chef will cook your meals for one to two weeks and will leave your kitchen spotless and stocked with delicious meals labeled with easy-to-follow heating instructions.

They have about a dozen cities on their site, but it seems that at this time they are concentrated in the Bay Area and San Diego with a few chefs in Wash. D.C., Chicago and New York.

The partners are very Web savvy, but that hasn’t stopped them from getting a bad mark on the Ripoff Report concerning a wedding cake that didn’t make it to the reception.

Steiber says that they refunded the money, were very sorry and tried to get a replacement cake.

A person close to this situation said that they could not recommend Big City Chefs.

For the reality show, the cameras will follow the Big City Chefs as they cook and mount events. It is in post-production now.

Steiber said the Food Network found them on the Web.

I heard about them because they were one of the prizes on the Price is Right TV show.

Now, if you want to learn a new skill at home, check out Chef Tomm’s Interactive Cooking Show, “Culinary Secrets.”

Chef Tomm Johnson teaches basic cooking at the Professional Culinary Institute on the Peninsula and has studied all over the world.

I found his lesson on Chinese noodle pulling absolutely riveting. You can tell Johnson is an experienced teacher, the way he repeats the movements in the noodle pulling again and again, all the while keeping up a calm monologue. The noodle pulling is in two parts. I also liked his knife skills video. 

Don’t miss a free cooking demonstration with chef Christian Hermsdorf of Bar Bambino, my new favorite eatery in the Mission. He’ll make their famous mini meatballs and I’ll talk about Mission history.      

After years spent immersed in California cuisine at Avenue 9, then French cuisine at Citron, Hermsdorf found himself being drawn to a simpler expression of ingredients at Bar Bambino. Join us at San Francisco’s Bloomingdale’s at 2 pm on July 19. Come hungry!

I found a secret dinner house, about a mile or less from my home. It was California idyllic: people dining on fabulous food, sitting around a pool while a jazz combo played, a young singer trilled and a gentle breeze rustled the trees on the lawn. 

My friend Pam and I slid over to Rickey’s Restaurant & Bar a place that I hadn’t had dinner at in years.

In recent times, I’ve popped into Rickey’s for lunch – good burgers, nice salads. But I hadn’t been to dinner.

Five years ago when Rickey’s opened I went to dinner with my pal Dave. I ordered the smoked prime rib and it was less than stellar. (It was over-smoked and not the rare that I like.)

I decided to order it again and this time it was perfect. The chef, Noe Martinez, was not cooking the prime rib five years ago. He sent us an amusée that he put together with ingredients on hand. It was invented on the spot, so to speak, and very creative.

Besides the prime rib, Pam enjoyed seared scallops. We finished our repast with ripe berries in pastry cream and cheesecake.

An important aspect of Rickey’s is that everyone is highly skilled, including the wait staff.  Interestingly, at Rickey’s and some other places in Marin, more and more servers are Hispanic. Some have worked their way up; others started at more casual places and gained experience. Our server Abraham was terrific… Nelson just about runs the place.

Bob Puccini’s design, manly, lodge-like inside, California cool outside, looks as good as the day they opened.

An added bonus was seeing long-time friends and former catering clients Karen Duffy and Harvey Gould enjoying Rickey’s to the max. 

I came into the City for a meeting that didn’t happen, but while I was waiting for everyone else to show up, I chatted with the long-time pastry chef of Bix, Aaron Toensing.

While I dialed up the other participants, Toensing said, “Taste this.”
Zowie, a sorbet made from charlynne melon!
The sorbet burst with the essence of the fruit.
Toensing says that he has also made sorbets from strawberries and nectarines.

“I put a quart of fruit and half cup of agave in this machine and in three minutes, that’s it,” he explained.

So, what magic does he use to create these yummy wonders?
The machine he uses is called a Pacojet and before you run out to get one, be advised it costs $3,500.

The newly opened Tony’s Neapolitan Pizza in North Beach ran out of dough on Independence Day. Here is a pic of his award-winning Margherita.

Bravo!

Think you’re good at decorating cakes? Check these out, sent in by my friend Ina. They are entries in a Russian cake-decorating contest. The last one gives new meaning to the word “toothsome.”

Frank Messmer died suddenly last week of a heart attack. I knew Frank for many years. At one time he had his own food distribution business, Frank’s Fresh Foods and later he went to work for Golden Gate Meat Company in sales.

He was, as the invite to his memorial states, “an honest and hard working man.”

I can add he was a gentleman and lots of fun. My last communication from him was on June 17, when he sent me a tip about a chef moving to a Half Moon Bay restaurant.

There will be a celebration of Frank’s life today at 4294 Big Ranch Road, Napa, starting at 3:30 p.m., with a memorial service at 5 p.m.  If you attend, please bring food or beverages to share.

In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate contributions to the Frank Messmer Memorial Fund, 4294 Big Ranch Road, Napa, CA 94558.

The Scoop Contest – an irregular feature of the letter

Answer all 3 questions and win one of the following prizes. First come, first served. Email to me directly: gaw@sbcglobal.net

First person with all the right answers wins:

•  A gift certificate to my new mini-tour of North Beach with lunch at Tony’s Neapolitan    Pizza for one. 
• Cindy Paulson’s Appetizers cookbook.
• A coupon book for popchips, the never fried, never baked snack   

1. What cookbook won the James Beard Award for best cookbook in 2008?

2. What cookbook was the best selling cookbook of 2008?

3. What is the name of what is considered to be the oldest cookbook in Western culture?

Send answers to gaw@sbcglobal.net

 

For more information about GraceAnn’s tours of North Beach, Chinatown & The New Mission, visit www.graceannwalden.net or contact her at gaw@sbcglobal.net.

To read GraceAnn’s monthly column in Northside San Francisco, “Chef’s Chat”.