Female chefs star at 4-star Chez Panisse
In his Between Meals column, Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer writes about the restaurants he visits each week as he searches for the next Top 100 Restaurants. His main dining reviews, written after three or more visits, appear in the Sunday Food + Wine section.
Writing a review of Chez Panisse is a challenge. As the late Marion Cunningham, author of “The Fannie Farmer Cookbook,” repeatedly said, “Chez Panisse isn’t a real restaurant.”
That wasn’t a slam — what she meant is that it is different than any other restaurant. Chez Panisse offers a single nightly changing menu only, and while some preparations may reappear occasionally, in the more than 30 years I’ve been going to the restaurant I’ve never seen a repeat.
I’ve also never had a dinner that disappointed. No other restaurant has better ingredients or treats them with more respect. Techniques don’t star in the kitchen; it’s all about the products.
However, it takes a particular exacting skill to employ techniques that enhance and don’t overshadow the ingredients. Every time I dine at Chez Panisse, there’s been an ingredient or preparation that was a revelation. One time it was pork cooked on the grill, another time it was lamb that was hung over the fire. I remember about 10 years ago I had asparagus unlike any I’d tasted. A year ago I had a similar reaction to the aioli that garnished a seafood stew.
On a recent visit, each of the four courses ($100) was seafood, but the revelation came at dessert with the pure intensity of Meyer lemon.
I was there to taste the work of the restaurant’s newest chef, Jennifer Sherman, who has also held the title of general manager since 2008. When Cal Peternell left last summer after working in restaurant kitchens for more than two decades, he was replaced by Sherman, who still acts as general manager. Waters generally promotes from within, and my suspicions turned out to be true: Sherman is an excellent chef.
For many years, Waters has hired two chefs to split duties in the kitchen. When Jerome Waag left a few years ago, he was replaced by Amy Dencler, who has also been in the kitchen for more than two decades.
While Waters is the patron saint for female chefs and owners, this is the first time since the founding of the restaurant 47 years ago that the restaurant kitchen has had two women at the top.
In addition, one of the two chefs at the cafe is a woman: Beth Wells, who shares duties with Nathan Alderson.
Oh, and the two pastry chefs who create desserts for both restaurants are women: Mary Jo Thoresen and Carrie Lewis.
While chefs come and go, Waters is able to maintain consistency because the people she puts at the top have often worked there for years and are imbued with the restaurant’s style. Sherman, who cooks on Monday and Tuesday nights, fits into that style and has the talent to pull off different menus each night.
The dinner on a recent Tuesday night started with an aperitif wine and olives that were breaded and deepfried, followed by a first course of halibut brandade with mache, carrots, beets and romanesco. “Delicate” isn’t a word that’s generally associated with brandade, but Sherman’s version was mild, and the fish, rather than the salt, starred.
Next was a silken crab soup with bits of truffles, then a mixed grill of scallops, swordfish and striped sea bass arranged on the plate with leeks, beurre rouge and pommes Anna. The French preparation of potatoes was layered with butter and cooked until a crispy skin formed. The red wine butter sauce hinted of grapes, giving it a structure that dovetailed with the smoky nuances of the seafood. It was a brilliant combination.
The Meyer lemon souffle glace was magnificent. Underneath the toasted meringue was an intense frozen Meyer lemon mousse, its tartness slightly smoothed by sugar. It made me wonder how the pastry team was able to extract so much flavor from the lemons.
It was a dinner that again showed why Chez Panisse has managed to stay on top for decades.