Charlie Ayers Inaugurates Calafia

By JULIETTE ROSSANT Do you see the connection? On the one hand, Inauguration of Barack Obama. On the other, the opening of Charlie Ayers' Calafia Café & Market A Go-Go? Charlie is Google's first chef, hired in 1999 when the company had only 53 employees: Co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brim were looking to provide their employees with fast, unfettered access to clean, healthy, delicious foods. Their goal was to nourish the bodies and brains and spirits that would propel their fast-growing company forward. They wanted power foods that would leave their minions stimulated and energetic after lunch, not slumped over their keyboards. (p. 7) Sounds like a recipe for the entire country working towards an economic turn-around. When Charlie left Google in 2005 he was running 10 cafes providing 4,000 lunches and dinners to the Google minions at the headquarters in Mountain View, CA. Perhaps his food did help energize the Google troops and help the company achieve its rapid growth – something the US would like to see once again. The quote comes from Charlie's` Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef Who Fed Google (DK 2008). The book is an intriguing blueprint of what Charlie will be doing at his new café in Palo Alto, CA. The concept for Calafia is at once purely Californian – organic, healthy, with international flavors – but also reflective of the National mood - fast, convenient and modestly priced. The first section of the cookbook covers the overall diet, Smart Choices, and then a guide to The Smart Pantry including helpful guidance on freezing ingredients. He includes recipes for "Flavor Cubes" (p. 68-69) such as Moroccan Carrot-Harissa Cubes and Tomato-Basil Cubes. The third section is devoted to recipes starting with breakfast, Start My Day. Charlie starts with advice for the busy, brainy types: If you know you'll be busy and want to power up, opt for whole grains, yogurt, fresh fruit, and green tea over sausage, eggs, and coffee. (p 106) He incorporates those suggestions into smoothies and like Hawaiian Kitchen-Sink Smoothie (p. 111) with bananas, berries, coconut milk and much more to Breakfast Tacos (p. 131) that include carne asada, rice, and queso fresco. Lunch recipes range all over the globe from Dragon Breath Noodles (p. 143) to Peppered Tuna Carpaccio (p. 155to Duck and Shrimp Dim Sum (p. 182). The photograph accompanying the recipes by Noel Murphy shows a small white bowl with a beautiful bok choy covered dumpling in a sweet chili dipping sauce crowned by sticks of red pepper. The language throughout is borrowed from computer-talk: reboot your internal operating system, and regular pit stops to up your fuel intake – the book could use even more inside Google stories in head notes. Charlie's new restaurant, Calafia, is actually a café and bar with a market under the same roof. The cafe and bar open today and the market opens up next month. The idea is position Calafia in the fast casual market – sure to keep growing in tough economic times. According to the press release: In keeping with Silicon Valley's reputation as a technology leader, Calafia will use handheld, wireless POS systems for table-side transactions and self-checkout kiosks to speed order and payment processes for busy diners. When the market opens, guests will be able to order online and pick up via designated parking spaces. These are the kind of hi-tech products in which the US (and other countries) excels in producing. Calafia will use predominantly locally grown ingredients from a 150 mile radius, and follow the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch and will use only free-range, organic poultry, grass-fed beef and lamb and Berkshire pork. In short, it is exactly the kind of restaurant that would meet President and First Lady Obama's requirements for healthy, nourishing food. The menu, like Charlie's book, has Latin, Asian and American influences, just like President Obama's background. Signature dishes include the Angry Pork Wrap, with carnitas-style braised heirloom pork; the vegetarian Eggplant Tiger Bowl; a warm French Lentils and Lamb Sausage Salad; Roasted Mahogany Salmon; and Crimson Quinoa and Beet Salad. There are also a variety of tacos, wraps, paninis, pizzas, salads, noodle and rice bowls and sides to please the palates of meat lovers, vegetarians and vegans alike. So, there is a bit of everything to get everyone eating healthy. The president has talked about an emphasis on alternative energy sources in his campaign, and Calafia is also committed to the environment. It was designed and constructed with sustainable and recycled materials throughout. The kitchen uses gas ovens for cooking pizzas, biodegradable packaging and flatware in the market, and restroom dryers that dry hands hygienically in mere seconds. Calafia will use a reverse-osmosis water filtration system to provide flat and carbonated water at no charge. In short, new alternative energy sources and recycling will provide jobs, create great food, and provide it at a reasonable cost. Go Obama! Go Charlie! Previous articles: [Chefs& Politics - complete] [Cooksbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging, cookbooks, cookbook reviews, Charlie Ayers, calafia --> back to Super Chef