Renowned Chefs Invade the Region

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By K.L. Minors

Increasingly, investors, both local and not, as well as experienced and novice restaurateurs, are wooing renowned chefs to the area. They believe staking their financial return on proven successes is a smart business strategy. As for the “celebrity” chefs, besides bringing their considerable reputation to the table, some also have an ownership interest. So why Sacramento and why now?

Attracting Talent
Reviews in The New York Times, Food Network appearances, and Michelin star ratings are but some of the accolades shared between Belgian-born Executive Chef Luc Dendievel and French Chef de Cuisine Christophe Gérard, part owners of downtown Sacramento’s Restaurant 55 Degrees, 555 Capitol Mall. 
     European trained, each regards his celebrity status with humility. “There’s no difference between who we are and what we do,” says Gérard. They’ve done “it” to the praise of diners, food critics and the culinary press in Paris, Miami and in the case of Dendievel, El Dorado Hills (with Baccaras). 
     The pair of 39-year-olds view Sacramento as having city attractions without the drawbacks of most major metropolises — two- to three-hour drives or multiple trains and buses to get to a destination. At the one-month mark with their dinner trade meeting projections, and lunch steadily on the rise, they’re confident the restaurant will be well-received by people who seek the best of both worlds. Dendievel doesn’t see competition, adding, “We try to do something different. We don’t say we do things better, we have our own style.”  
     A style that’s simple yet sophisticated, with a focus on fresh and local: Chicken and mushroom croquettes with fried parsley, steak frites with lemon parsley butter, double-cut Niman Ranch pork chops, and tuna burgers with wasabi mayonnaise and arugula. There’s a fresh oyster bar, and four different types of mussels served with crispy Belgian fries paired with beer or wine. The restaurant’s house-specialty mussels feature a bucketful of Belgian white beer, apple-wood bacon and goat cheese, plunked down in the center of white-clothed tables for all to share. “When people come here they say you could be in New York,” says Dendievel. “They love that we’re (in Sacramento). It’s not a restaurant where it’s fussy.” 
     At age 33, Executive Chef Philip Wang (pronounced “Wong”) of Mason’s Modern American Restaurant, one of four venues that constitute The Park Downtown at 1116 15th  St., has a resume filled with kitchen stints alongside some of the most recognized names in the industry, including Daniel Boulud and Traci Des Jardins. From his cook’s position, watching men and women at the top of their game was a lesson in how to balance demanding standards in the kitchen with dignity and kindness. “To have the reputation, and to get where they are, you have to be tough, you can’t let things slide,” says Wang. “Otherwise you have that meteoric rise to the middle.”  
Continued...

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