Chez Panisse, perhaps not surprisingly, is patronizing the newly established meat purveyor and buying its beef there, as well as “anything else they need … Continue reading »]]>

Aaron and Monica Rocchino, owners of The Local Butcher Shop, say they have been welcomed by the Berkeley community. Photo: Tracey Taylor

It’s only been just over two months since former Chez Panisse chef Aaron Rocchino and his wife Monica opened The Local Butcher Shop in the heart of Berkeley’s Gourmet Ghetto. But the store, which prides itself on sourcing locally and embracing the whole animal, has already found a loyal clientele and two very local restaurant clients.

Chez Panisse, perhaps not surprisingly, is patronizing the newly established meat purveyor and buying its beef there, as well as “anything else they need when they’re in a pinch”, says Monica Rocchino.

Saul’s Deli is getting ground beef from its new neighbor and, as of last Tuesday, serving Local Butcher Shop bologna. Executive Chef Peter Levitt hopes this might go some way to appeasing his salami loving customers who, he says, are suffering while Saul’s searches for sustainable, artisanal salami it feels happy to serve.(...)

Read the rest of Whole-beast butcher shop taps appetite for local meat (234 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 8 comments |
Post tags: Aaron Rocchino, Chez Panisse, Monica Rocchino, off the grid, Peter Levitt, Saul's Deli, The Local Butcher Shop, Vignette sodas

According to Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Sgt Mary Kusmiss, at around 10:00 p.m. a community member called to report a noise complaint consisting of a “loud … Continue reading »]]>

Acting on a call from the public, the Berkeley police shut down a celebration at the Cheese Board on Saturday. Photo: D.H. Parks

The Cheese Board Collective marked Gourmet Ghetto neighbor Chez Panisse’s 40th birthday by serving free slices of its legendary pizza to customers on Saturday night. The celebrations were curtailed at around 10:30pm, however, after the police, acting on a call from the public, asked that crowds disperse and the party be wound down.

According to Berkeley Police Department spokesperson Sgt Mary Kusmiss, at around 10:00 p.m. a community member called to report a noise complaint consisting of a “loud live band” in the area of the 1500 block of Shattuck Avenue.

A patrol officer arrived at the Cheese Board at about 10:10 p.m., and determined that the “hundreds of people in the street” created traffic and community safety issues as they were blocking the roadway and walking in, and across, the street. Berkeley Municipal Code states that quiet hours begin at 10:00 p.m.

In addition to the noise and pedestrian violation and overall safety issues, the officers documented that many members of the celebration were drinking alcohol which is also a code violation, Sgt Kusmiss said. “In the interest of mitigating the other issues, the BPD supervisor and BPD officers chose not to engage in any alcohol enforcement,” she said.

While many people were cooperative, the close-down did not sit well with everyone. One disgruntled participant was Berkeleyside reader Frank, who wrote in our Comments section: “Free delicious pizza and excellent jazz to any and all who came to join the celebration! The spirit of the gathering was beautiful; people were gently dancing and smiling on each other with a sense of community pervasive in the evening air. This was as wholesome as it gets… the Berkeley police gradually squelched and finally shut down this peaceful, life-affirming gathering.”

Daniel Parks, who took the photo above, said he told a police officer there was free pizza at the Cheese Board if he wanted a snack, but his suggestion was not taken up. “He gave me sort of a sour look and said no thanks,” he wrote.

The police have asked the Cheese Board to alert them if they are planning such an event so they can offer their support, and that  in future the restaurant request the necessary special event permits.

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 81 comments |
Post tags: Berkeley Police Department, Chez Panisse, The Cheese Board Collective

OPENEducation was held to commemorate the 40th birthday of Chez Panisse restaurant (wasn’t everything this weekend?). Hundreds of visitors strolled the museum’s gardens and terraces, sipping watermelon agua frescas, tasting fresh-made vegetable tacos while learning about bee-keeping, … Continue reading »]]>

Guests at the OPENeducation event at BAM have a vantage point over the proceedings. Photos: Tracey Taylor

Eating a shoe (center): flashback to 1980 when Alice Waters cooked one of filmmaker's Werner Herzog's shoes -- and he ate it -- in Berkeley

On Saturday, the grounds of the Berkeley Art Museum were transformed into an open campus and living kitchen as myriad food makers and food-related initiatives were displayed to the public — or at least those who had reserved (free) reservations for the event.

OPENEducation was held to commemorate the 40th birthday of Chez Panisse restaurant (wasn’t everything this weekend?). Hundreds of visitors strolled the museum’s gardens and terraces, sipping watermelon agua frescas, tasting fresh-made vegetable tacos while learning about bee-keeping, how to milk a goat or the business of single-origin coffees.

And because the goal was partly to trace the genealogy of Chez Panisse and its influences, which includes the free speech movement, a denuded police car served both as a soap-box for announcements and a canvas for chalk-graffiti artists.

Most bizarre by far was the public consumption of a shoe as a cheerful group of friends sat at a table and tucked into a shoe, made, apparently from pork skin. This strange display was a salute to a bet, made 30-odd years ago, by filmmaker Werner Herzog and Errol Morris that Morris would never finish his first movie. Werzog promised to eat his shoe if he lost. For the première of Gates of Heaven in 1980, Alice Waters cooked Herzog’s shoe with garlic, herbs, and duck fat for five hours. Herzog ate his shoe in front of an audience at the UC Theater, an event documented by Les Blank in the documentary Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe.

Two kids -- five- and six-weeks old (center) -- were a big hit. They came courtesy of Jeannie McKenzie who raises goats in Oakland

The "free speech" police car: a nod to the 1964 moment when Mario Savio stood on top of a police car in Sproul Plaza

Custom-made fruit drinks, using watermelons and limes among others, were on offer

A young guest discovers old technology next to some of the "Alphabet Soup" letters that were on hand to play with

Chapati making with the bicycle-powered wheat grinder and the Edible Schoolyard

Dilsa Lugo, a La Cocina alum, prepares tortillas at the BAM event

Jeremy Tooker from Four Barrel Coffee offers talks about the Ojer Caibal School Kitchen Project

Coffee plants and drip coffee courtesy of San Francisco's Four Barrel Coffee

Moe's Books offered a library of food-related books to peruse, as well as a copy machine, and the chance to make your own 'zine

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | No comment |
Post tags: Alice Waters, BAM/PFA, Berkeley Art Museum, Chez Panisse, Four Barrel Coffee, Jeanne McKenzie, la cocina, Moe's Books, Werner Herzog

“I just love that this portrait was … Continue reading »]]>

Alice Waters stands next to a photographic portrait by Dave Woody which will hang in The Smithsonian. All photos: Christina Diaz

Last night, Alice Waters launched the weekend-long fȇte for the restaurant she founded 40 years ago with a portrait unveiling and a food-inspired procession. Chez Panisse, the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and the art and food collective OPENrestaurant held a cocktail party Friday at the U.C. Berkeley Art Museum, where a portrait of Waters bound for The Smithsonian was revealed, marking the opening of several days of celebratory and fundraising activities.

The new portrait of Alice Waters by Dave Woody. Image: Courtesy Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery

“I just love that this portrait was taken at the Edible Schoolyard in the fall,” said a teary Waters to a packed and adoring audience. “This represents the future… and we’re not just going to do this in Berkeley or Brooklyn… we’re going to bring this to the whole country.”

Alice Waters with daughter Fanny at Friday's fȇte at BAM

The kids say it all: waiting to begin a procession at the opening celebration

The procession included children carrying goats, beekeepers in full protective gear, and recycling guys with shiny new carts. In the crowd: rock-star chefs, an actual rock star (David Byrne), Slow Food advocates, edible education champions, and anyone who paid $100 for a ticket for the privilege of rubbing shoulders with aforementioned folk. Spotted at the party: California Governor Jerry Brown, former Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl, Slow Food guru Carlo Petrini, and Senator Barbara Boxer, among others.

Former Talking Head David Byrne with waitperson Marisa Fioroni, who models the T-shirt designed by Byrne for Levi's in support of the Edible Schoolyard Project

Paula LeDuc Fine Catering provided food with unimpeachable pedigree from farmers and purveyors Waters knows well. The Chez Panisse-inspired menu included River Dog Farm corn soup spiced with chilies and flavored smoky pimento, handmade tamales from Primavera, Acme‘s Edible Schoolyard grilled levain with fresh Bellwether Farms sheep milk ricotta, and Katz extra virgin olive oil with fresh herbs and radishes, Beaulieu Garden cherry tomatoes served in burlap bags, and Monterey Fish Market albacore tuna confit with olive oil, salt-cured capers with herbs on lipstick peppers.

Paula LeDuc Fine Catering provided food with unimpeachable pedigree for the party

Oh, and there were some pretty kick-ass summer cocktails: Lance Winters Spirits infused with herbs from the Edible Schoolyard, including lemon verbena, mulberry, and mint.

Ross Levy and The Jungle Effect author Daphne Miller, whose children attend BUSD schools, will host a $500 Provencal-style meal prepared by Traci Des Jardins tonight

The real rock stars: Edible Schoolyard staff, from left: Monica Linzer, chef teacher, Jason Uribe, garden teacher, Geoff Palla, garden manager, and Elena Garcia, Americorps member

For those with seats at the table, the festivities continued with birthday eve dinners at the restaurant: Upstairs in the café, a seafood and best-of-summer vegetable feast (early and late seatings) for $150 per person. And in the downstairs dining room, a meal prepared by Chez Panisse chef Jean-Pierre Moulle with Sally Clarke of Clarke’s in London, hosted by Stanlee Gatti and Waters.

Today, the fun and fundraising shifts with OPENeducation at BAM (free, and open to the public but no more reservations available). Crops will be harvested, shoes will be cooked, a cop car will get graffiti as part of an edible installation conceived by the next generation of Chez Panisse. A series of sold-out dinners around town cooked by top chefs are also on the menu Saturday.

Sam White, mastermind behind the food and art collective OPENrestaurant, and a Chez Panisse maître d', hosts OPENeducation today at BAM. Interactive cooking and gardening installation -- maybe even a boiled shoe -- and this cop car that kids can decorate with words

All the gala event photos shown here were taken by Christina Diaz. View her album with more photos of the event.

Sarah Henry is the voice behind Lettuce Eat Kale. You can follow her on Twitter and become a fan of Lettuce Eat Kale on Facebook.  

Related:
Local restaurants raise money for edible education [08.26.11]
The frenzy around Chez Panisse’s 40th birthday [08.26.11]
Fundraising underpins Chez Panisse’s birthday celebrations [08.01.11]
Berkeley Bites: Alice Waters [10.22.10]

By Sarah Henry. | Permalink | 11 comments |
Post tags: Alice Waters, Barbara Boxer, Carlo Petrini, Chez Panisse, David Byrne, Edible Schoolyard, Jerry Brown, OPENrestaurant, Ruth Reichl

The Local Butcher Shop, in the old Red Hanger Kleaners space on Cedar Street in the Gourmet Ghetto, has already attracted dozens of curious foodies.

One-on-one customer service, offering cuts of meat hewed from whole carcasses, is the principal order of business. But providing some meat — most likely beef — to … Continue reading »]]>

Former Chez Panisse chef Aaron Rocchino at the cutting table in his new butcher shop on Cedar Street. Photos: Tracey Taylor

On Tuesday, Aaron and Monica Rocchino quietly opened the doors to their new business, an artisan butcher shop where the term “snout to tail” really comes into its own.

The Local Butcher Shop, in the old Red Hanger Kleaners space on Cedar Street in the Gourmet Ghetto, has already attracted dozens of curious foodies.

One-on-one customer service, offering cuts of meat hewed from whole carcasses, is the principal order of business. But providing some meat — most likely beef — to Aaron Rocchino’s former boss, Alice Waters at Chez Panisse, is also on the cards.

Rocchino joins a long line of Chez Panisse alumni who have gone on to open their own food businesses, many of them locally. He is also part of a movement centered in the Bay Area that is focused on the provenance of meat, sustainable raising methods and informed, responsible butchery.

The Rocchinos, who met when they were both working at Oliveto Restaurant nine years ago, have been working towards this moment for years. As Berkeleyside reported in May, the couple believe there’s a void in the market for restaurant-quality, sustainable meat for home customers.

Aaron and Monica Rocchino: their goal is to bring restaurant quality meat to the home cook

“Being in the restaurant business exposed us to great meats,” says Monica. “The impetus for us is that we wanted to get that quality to home cooks.

“Most stores sell boxed meats,” she continues. “And most restaurants don’t have the staff or space to accommodate whole animals. But farmers invest a lot of time and energy into raising their animals and we want to reflect that.”

Once its walk-in meat cooler is up and running, with its traditional hook-and-rail system, the new shop will be taking in whole carcasses of cows, pigs and sheep, and using every part of the animals, be it to create some stewing lamb, a jar of rendered fat, dog food or pork charcuterie.

The pair are also putting into play some innovative thinking when it comes to what they charge. They are implementing a “holistically structured” pricing system. This works by dividing up animals into three sections — front, middle and rear — and pricing accordingly. The thinking is that there is no rationale for charging more for so-called “choice” cuts of meat.

Butcher John Hogeland, who was previously at Whole Foods for 11 years, prepares cuts of meat at the newly opened Local Butchers Shop

“For the farmer and for us the costs are fixed. It was the meat packers and distributors who decided to put a value on certain cuts, like tenderloin or rib-eye steaks,” says Monica.

Aaron says there’s another reason some parts of the animal have traditionally been priced more highly: the easier it is to cook the more costly it will be. Cuts that require slow-cooking tend to be cheaper.

Thus, what the customer has come to consider as a higher quality cut will be selling for significantly less at The Local Butchers Shop than at other local stores.

Monica Rocchini behind the counter at the new butcher shop

The shop has been designed to look spotless and airy with an emphasis on transparency — butchers cut meat in full view of the customers, there’s a large viewing window on the meat cooler, and all the meat is displayed with chalk-board signs in frontfacing cases. “Nobody is going to turn their back on you while cutting or packing your meat,” says Monica.

The remodel was overseen by Andrea Ray Croyle from Berkeley architect firm Kahn Design Associates, and Kaufman Construction, also Berkeley-based. To save money, the couple did much of the work themselves, including painting the walls a combination of crisp white and black chalkboard. White subway tiles complete the clean look.

Roxy and Hubert Schaefer from Albany bought house-made pork fennel sausages at the new store on Thursday

The exposed wall of the meat cooler is clad in reclaimed redwood. “It was the fence of neighbors of friends in San Rafael,” says Monica. “We took it home and power-washed it, then spent 13 hours installing it.”

Everything sold in the store, apart from spices – including all the meats, the rubs and vinegars, marinades and artisan sodas — comes from no more than 150 miles away.

The farmers who supply The Local Butcher Shop include Mac Magruder of Ingel-Haven Ranch in Potter Valley, Mendocino (beef and pork), Hudson Ranch (pork) and Don Watson (lamb), both in Napa, Phillip Paine in Sonoma (squab), Liberty Farm in Sonoma (duck), Bill Niman of BN Ranch in Bolinas (turkey), Mark Pasternak of Devil’s Gulch Ranch in Nicasio (rabbit), Riverdog Farm in Yolo County (pork), and Gleason Ranch in Bodega (chicken and pork).

Meat cuts are priced according to their location on the animal -- front, middle or rear

The Local Butcher Shop has a staff of nine as well as the Rocchinos. They are Ross Woller who came from Oenotri Restaurant in Napa and is in charge of all the charcuterie and “added value” products, Seth Crabtree who hails from charcuterie company Boccalone, sandwich master Kel Troughton, Bill McCann who has worked as a butcher for 40 years, John Hogeland who was at Whole Foods for 11 years, Liz Halbig who went to culinary school, works at Holistic Hound and is an expert on dog food, and Enrique Martinez who splits his time between the shop and his other post as a server at Chez Panisse.

The store sells a daily sandwich — on Tuesday it was braised Magruder pork shoulder with grilled onions, tomato, mixed greens and feta on an Acme herb deli roll, Wednesday was roast beef.

“We have an idea of a place where people come in and sip wine and nibble on charcuterie while they choose their meat,” says Aaron. This concept will need to remain unrealized for now, however, as the pair don’t have the required permits for serving drinks.

“But one day, perhaps,” says Monica. “Either here or maybe somewhere else.”

It’s clear this energetic couple has “the vision thing” down pat. Meanwhile, they have a new business to run. The Local Butcher Shop has its grand opening on Tuesday August 30, but is serving customers now.

A viewing window has been cut into a wall of reclaimed redwood to allow customers to look into the shop's meat cooler

Related:
Chez Panisse chef to open artisan butcher shop [05.26.11]
Pickled tongue and paté: Café Rouge butcher goes solo [06.09.11]
The Fifth Quarter Charcuterie to debut at farmers’ market [07.20.11] 

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 13 comments |
Post tags: Aaron Rocchino, Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Holistic Hound, Kahn Design Associates, Kaufman Construction, Monica Rocchino, Oliveto Restaurant, The Local Butcher Shop

With this in mind, the Chez Panisse Foundation is to be renamed the Edible Schoolyard Organization this Fall, so that a program that originated in the shadow of the restaurant … Continue reading »]]>

Chefs at work in the Chez Panisse kitchen. Photo: angrywayne/Creative Commons.

Forty years after a young Alice Waters opened what was to become one of the most famous restaurants in the world, the Chez Panisse owner is using the anniversary to focus less on the brown-shingled eatery and more on her mission to see kids eating healthily at school.

With this in mind, the Chez Panisse Foundation is to be renamed the Edible Schoolyard Organization this Fall, so that a program that originated in the shadow of the restaurant is now clearly positioned as where Waters is devoting most of her energies.

That’s not to say that the birthday will not be marked with celebrations, many of them guaranteed to delight the taste-buds. Indeed, Waters and her team have orchestrated a full calendar of events over the long weekend of August 26-30, from large-scale cocktail parties to intimate dinners, from educational classes to creative gatherings.

And graduates from the “university of Alice Waters” will be out in force, as Chez Panisse protegés such as Jean-Pierre Moullé, Sally Clarke, Charlie Hallowell, Russell Moore, Gayle Pirie, and Charlene Reis are put to work whipping up feasts.(...)

Read the rest of Fundraising underpins Chez Panisse’s birthday festivities (495 words)

By Tracey Taylor. | Permalink | 3 comments |
Post tags: Alice Waters, Chez Panisse, Chez Panisse 40th birthday, Chez Panisse Foundation, Edible Schoolyard Foundation