FW: Concept Eatery Is Playground for Aspiring Chefs

[Guest guest]

Sorry for the cross- posts.I thought the aspiring chefs among us might be

interested...jsut save me a sample

Merav Levi, RD, MS, CDN, CSGA dietitian, not the food police.

http://www.linkedin.com/in/meravlevi

" Life is not measured by the number of breath you take, but by the moments that

take your breath away. " - Carlin " People don't forget the truth, they just

become better in lying " (Revolutionary Road)

Subject: Concept Eatery Is Playground for Aspiring Chefs

From: hello@...

To: Meravls@...

Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2012 19:58:12 +0000

This Gourmet Restaurant Lends its Kitchen to Aspiring Chefs

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This Gourmet Restaurant Lends its Kitchen to Aspiring

Chefs

TODAY'S GOOD

10% recession-proof

45% gastronomic

45% fleeting

#popupchefs

We'd love to recommend the delicious

meal of goat cheese fritters, truffle tagliatelle, and roasted sugar plum squash

ravioli recently served at a new Oakland eatery, but by the time you get this

email, the elegant rustic menu sampled—as well as the chef who crafted it from

local ingredients—will probably be long gone. That’s because the dinner was

created at Guest Chef, a new eatery that’s equal parts Top Chef, pop-up

boutique, and recession-era resume-builder.

Guest Chef is the brainchild of Bay Area real estate developer Cameron.

Simply put, it is a permanent space without permanent cooks. The way Cameron

sees it, starting a new cafe shouldn't be a precarious recession career move for

aspiring chefs. So the 20-seat restaurant changes hands every two weeks as a new

emerging or established chef takes over with access to a fully stocked kitchen,

wine reserve, and three-person base staff. The two-week window ostensibly gives

the chefs a chance to find out if they are confident and skilled enough to

impress area crowds with their adventurous long-term ideas.

So far, it’s working. Cooks have ranged from a grandmother from Zacatecas,

Mexico with no industrial kitchen experience, to Michelin-Star-winning ph

Humphrey, to everyone in between.

The effort began with an empty kitchen. Last year, chef Mark Valentine—a

friend of Cameron’s—suggested that they find a creative use for an unused

space along a gentrifying Oakland neighborhood’s main drag. With no previous

restaurant management experience, Cameron wasn’t entirely sure how the

experiment would turn out. But the restaurant now boasts a small stable of

regulars that show up to try every new menu. And Cameron is already fielding

calls from entrepreneurs in other cities. “People in New York and Chicago want

to know when we’re coming to their towns,†he says. He’s also filmed a

possible reality show pilot, but notes that in order to be TV-ready, “I might

have to bring in some assholes,†he says. “Everyone who has cooked here has

been wonderful … that doesn’t necessarily make great television.â€

Photo courtesy Greg Lutes

How'd the entrepreneurs pull off their idea?

Writer Brittany Shoot reports on GOOD.is →

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