How do you become a Google chef? Search me
A B Y T E T O EAT INTENSE COMPETITION
I am one of the chosen few. It all began a few weeks back when I received a call from Google, the Web search engine people. I was informed that they are looking for a corporate executive chef.
I have had a long relationship with the company. Every time I research anything on the Web, I use Google. It turns out that Google feeds breakfast, lunch and dinner to about 4,000 employees at their beautiful Mountain View, Calif., headquarters, and they are looking for a chef. I was told their hiring process is unusual.
A handful of chefs from around the United States are interviewed by phone and then those they select are brought to corporate headquarters to cook a full menu for a panel of 35 “ Googlers,” as employees call themselves. Then the top chefs will compete in an Iron Chef battle for the position.
I was offered a chance to visit the campus and prepare a menu. I took the challenge. In fact, I’ve just returned from my visit.
As I get off my red-eye flight, I can’t help thinking about how I have had a rich and wonderful career cooking in foreign countries for royalty and celebrities, but never have I done anything like this.
When I arrived in San Francisco, I drove 40 minutes to Google headquarters where I valetparked on the beautiful grounds complete with volleyball courts.
The air was crisp and cool, the buildings colourful and contemporary. Security welcomed me into the lobby where organic juices, smoothies and flickering lava lamps greeted me.
Classic Google colours of red, green, blue and yellow are everywhere. I was interviewed by several people including an on- site nutritionist.
I was shown to the kitchen to begin my food preparation for the following day’s preliminary battle. It’s a large, well- equipped kitchen with dozens of cooks. All the food prepared here is a benefit for Google employees whose average age is 25. Unlike a traditional restaurant where stringent food and labour costs dictate the menu, this is a chef’s Disneyland where food is born of inspiration and pure love of cooking.
The food is served to thousands of well-educated and savvy foodies. Many of the ingredients are organic and locally grown. There is every imaginable seasonal produce item, the finest natural meats and poultry, fresh fish, lobster, rock shrimp and organic tofu — both Japanese and Chinese.
I am blown away.
There is a huge walk- in just for condiments. There are four varieties of Thai chili paste, Indian curries, hot chili pastes from India and Indonesia. I am led to a storage room for just organic grains, nuts and seeds. I gently caress the bottle of 12-year-old balsamic vinegar and pop a fresh macadamia nut into my mouth.
The ingredients are as diverse as the people who work here.
For my trial, I was told to make a soup, salad, appetizer, entree, vegetarian entree and dessert. I prepared Steve’s Google-icious Menu: Edamame Hummus, Bahamian chicken chowder, sundried tomato agnolotti with roasted mushroom fra diavolo sauce, Indonesian seared rock shrimp salad with Asian slaw, Ligurian petrale stuffed sole, giant baked stuffed portobellos with asiago cheese, baked tofu with mangomacadamia crust, streusel stuffed plums with candied ginger and balsamic pomegranate reduction.
I’m waiting to hear if I’ll be going back for the Iron Chef competition.
Knight Ridder
Steve Petusevsky is national director of creative food development, Whole Foods Market and author of the Whole Foods Cookbook.