There’s a new cook in the kitchen!
Chef Stephen Smith takes the culinary helm here at the inn
“I’m a simple guy, really,” Chef Stephen Smith stated with a wry grin and a one-sided shrug as he gently tossed a saucepan full of shrimp over the open flame of the stove. I had been pestering him with questions like, “What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done in your career?” and interrupting the peaceful calm of his well-run kitchen with the restless wandering of my notebook and pen. He laughed at me a little, his eyes twinkling with good humor. He was too humble to toot his own horn, so I wrung what I could from him in the middle of Wine Hour prep and ran away to glean more details from his brand-spanking-new employee file.
And if you read that and thought, “Wait, does a brand-spanking-new employee file mean that the Brewery Gulch Inn has a new chef?” you would be absolutely correct! For the past couple of years, we were lucky enough to enjoy the tasty work of itinerant Chef James Hardenburg as he and his wife tarried for a while on the Mendocino coast. We knew from the beginning that his time with us would not be long though, so as his predetermined departure date drew near, we were ecstatic to be approached by local legend Stephen Smith, an accomplished chef that we already all knew and loved. The honorary ladle officially passed from James to Stephen on June 1 of this year, and Chef Steve has been settling in and making the kitchen his own since then.
One of Chef Stephen’s recent Wine Hour appetizers: Delectable pork belly with port wine mushroom sauce & parsnip mash… mmm…
Wine Hour prep over and dishes being the theme of the hour, I stepped back into the kitchen to wash up a few dishes of my own and drew Chef into a little more conversation. We talked about his travel experiences – trekking up to Machu Pichu, crossing the Himalayas, exploring different areas and cuisines around Asia. He opened up about some of his note-worthy work experience – started washing dishes at Albion River Inn at 15, quickly advanced to prep cook, worked the line at the renowned Stars restaurant in SF under legendary Jeremiah Tower, graduated from the California Culinary Academy, taught cooking classes at Sacramento’s acclaimed Chinois East/West. He fondly reminisced over his 30 years as executive chef at the Albion River Inn and the opportunities and experiences he got to have while there – acted as personal chef to noted designer Donna Karan of DKNY during her visit to Mendocino, featured as guest chef for a special dinner at the James Beard Foundation in New York City, received acclaim from several notable publications, connected with locals and visitors alike through regular cooking classes and seasonal events like the Chowder Competition and Crab Cake Cookoff.
“So what made you decide to come join us at the Brewery Gulch Inn?”
“I was at a point in my life where I wanted to shift a bit from the full-service restaurant scene and refocus my attention on the intimate elegance of food crafted for a smaller crowd. The smaller space and fewer staff here bring their own creative challenges to my process, but I’m enjoying the ways it’s encouraging me to rethink and reimagine my food.”
“Speaking of staff, I have to say that we all love getting to work with you. You have a wonderfully calm and steady presence in the kitchen, and you were a solid rock during the near chaos of last week’s full house booking!”
“Haha, well I love working with everyone here too! This is a great team, and I look forward to being a part of it for a long time.”
A little more laughter, a little more dreaming of future possibilities (A cookbook? Cooking classes for guests at the inn?), and it was time to call it a night. Steve pulled off his chef coat and gathered his things to go, avid support of the LA Dodgers proudly clear in the battered warm up jacket he shrugged on for the drive home. Guy would have given him a good-natured ribbing for this bit of fandom, but me? What did I care? Stolen tastes of that night’s Shrimp and Pozole still lingered on my tongue, and I was happy to overlook any misguided sports-related passion in the joy of those flavors.
Words and pictures by Laura Hockett