Pastry Chef Goes Savory
Diners at Parcel 104 restaurant in Santa Clara know all about Pastry Chef Carlos Sanchez’s dainty, exquisite desserts that end any dinner there on a sweet, memorable note.
But what you might not know is that the Colombian-born Sanchez also can handle the savory side of a meal.
This past Saturday, he hosted his fourth “Pastry Chef Goes Savory” special dinner there. In the past, he’s limited the guest list to about 35. This time around, though, he opened it up to the entire restaurant. More than 90 eager diners, including yours truly, enjoyed a six-course meal ($65; additional $34 for wine pairings), that was orchestrated from start to finish by the humble, soft-spoken Sanchez.
Why does he choose to step into this atypical role one night a year?
“To be a leader in the kitchen, you should be able to do any job in the kitchen,” he explains. “It’s important to me to be a complete chef.”
In other news at Parcel 104, Executive Chef Robert Sapirman is a beaming newlywed, having tied the knot late last year. Former Sous Chef Johnny Hall has departed for Solvang, where he’ll be working at Bradley Ogden’s soon-to-open new restaurant in the revamped Royal Scandinavian Hotel, which will be renamed, the Hotel Corque. Taking his place as sous chef at Parcel 104 is Anthony Ippolito, formerly of the Inn at Spanish Bay in Pebble Beach.
If you missed Sanchez’s special dinner this year, keep an eye out for it next year. Meantime, here’s the 2009 menu to salivate over:
* Sonoma foie gras, with kumquat fruit, Sausalito watercress, and raisin batard bread.
Fairview La Beryl Blanc 2006, Paarl
* Alabama prawns, with Maui Gold pineapple chutney, curry aioli
Treana White 2007, Central Coast
* Maine Monkfish, spring garlic risotto, fine herb salad
Sanford Chardonnay 2006, Santa Barbara County
* American “Kobe” beef, fingerling potato, guacamole, yuca frita
Freemark Abbey Cabernet Sauvignon 2004, Napa Valley
* Carmody cheese three ways: Bellwether Farm cheese, beignet, and grilled cheese sandwich
Tokay Buller & Son Solera, Victoria
* Columbian flan with chantilly cream, and coffee flakes
He should go savory more often – those are some amazing dishes he’s got!
Looks amazing – Parcel 104 is an Ogden restaurant too, right? I love Lark Creek, but haven’t been impressed with Yankee Pier.
sounds delicious.
A marvelous meal! I particularly love the looks of that Culumbian flan!
Cheers,
Rosa
Read about it on Michael (Cooking for Engineers)’s blog
http://www.orthogonalthought.com/blog/index.php/2009/03/what-i-ate-march-7-2009-parcel-104/
Would love to try it, but how do you get on his invitation list?
Sounds DELISH! Yum yum. I’ll have to go the next time they do it!! 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing the evening with us! For the time being, this may be the closest I’ll get to enjoying Chef Sanchez’s work but who there’s always hope . . . !
Nate: It was open to the public. No invitation or secret handshakes necessary. You’ll have to put it on your must-do list for 2010.
Sara: You know your restaurants. Yes, Parcel 104 is part of the Lark Creek Group, which Bradley Ogden founded. Can’t wait to see what his Solvang restaurant will be like.
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