MANILA, Philippines - Who is the American chef who is said to have defined San Diego, California’s cuisine with his George's at the Cove restaurant?
He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii and raised in Ojai, California. It is said that he stumbled upon his career while earning money to support his surfing habit.
Starting out as a bus boy in Ojai, he has ridden many waves on his path to culinary success. In 1988, he moved to Hyde Park, New York, to attend the Culinary Institute of America to become a classically trained chef.
Before graduating from the CIA, however, he completed an externship at L’Orangerie in Los Angeles, staying a full year — well beyond the standard four-month stint — to fully appreciate the lessons being taught on running a serious kitchen serious about its food.
Like most chefs, he hopped around, landing first in San Francisco, where he worked at Le Folie, learning French contemporary cooking, in contrast with the classical style he learned at L’Orangerie.
In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles, becoming chef de cuisine of the popular Rockenwagner, where he was recognized by GQ Magazine for its 1993 Golden Dish Awards for his lobster on sweet potato puree with truffle butter.
He then worked at Three Thirty Three at the historic Sheraton Grande Hotel in downtown LA, and in 1996 moved back to Hawaii as chef de cuisine of the five diamond Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows, until he was called by Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort to become executive chef of its operation in Utah.
During his time at Sundance he was named one of America’s Best New Chefs in 1998 by Food & Wine Magazine, an honor bestowed on now famous cooks like Daniel Boloud, Traci des Jardins and Gary Danko.
He joined George’s at the Cove in the spring of 1999 and since then, he has been perfecting the art of highly seasonal cuisine made from the freshest, local ingredients.
His relationship with Chino Farm is well known, dating back to his Rockenwagner days. Today, he faxes an order to Chino Farm every night, then drives over in the morning to pick up the fruits and vegetables that form the framework for his thoughtful and creative and intensely seasonal cooking.
He supplements his Chino Farm base with produce from a handful of other local farms including Crows Pass, and works with a select group of suppliers to source humanely raised and hormone free meat and poultry, along with sustainable seafood and fish. The result is pure, intensified flavor that speaks volume on the plate.
His signature dish is Deconstructed Fish Taco, a more inventive take on the traditional dish, which he says, “embellishes what San Diego dining is today.†In Mexico, the fish is usually breaded and fried, and served in a corn tortilla with cabbage, sauces, and salsa fresco.
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Last’ week’s question: Who is the French architect who completed the new Louvre in Paris in the late 19th century?
Answer: Hector Martin Lefuel
Winner: Rogelio S. Manuel of Pasig City