IS SACRAMENTO THE NEW CULINARY CAPITAL OF CALIFORNIA

A few weeks ago, I was invited again to take part in the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival. It has always been a great event, with hundreds of chefs and their restaurant crews. My problem in saying ‘yes’ is that I have no restaurant. No crew. But in a conversation with the great Dorothy Maras, who directs much of the festival, and keeps the chefs corralled (no mean feat in itself), she reminded me of my chef friends in Sacramento. And that the food scene there was now leading the California charge.

That’s when Sacramento chefs Ed Roehr and Ravin Patel, who were part of the chef team (Kathi Riley-Smith of American River College, Brad Cecchi of Canon, Ed Roehr of Magpie, and Ravin Patel of Selland's) who led the dinner with me, at the 2018 Tower Bridge dinner on the bridge for 850 people, offered to help.

After that dinner on the Bridge, caviar, Morro Bay Oysters, and champagne for 1000 at Pebble Beach would be a cinch.

The Tower Bridge Dinner Family-Style Menu

The inspiration and decisions for the menu were, as always, about what were the best ingredients that the local producers could provide.