School's out for summer. But you wouldn't know it by watching Sergio Gonzalez, pastry chef for University Auxiliary ServicesatCSU Channel Islandsin Camarillo, at work in the campus kitchen.
On a recent day, Gonzalez juggled making cookiesfor staff meetings with tracking a delayed shipment of chocolate and baking and decorating 150 cupcakes – in four flavors, no less – to be presentedduring a catered awards dinner on campus that night.
The guests of honor were 24 current and former foster youth, each of whom was slated to receivea scholarship through the Training, Education and Achievement by Children, or TEACh, program. The event featured certificates, speakers and Gonzalez's cupcakes, somedecorated with the TEACh logo spelled out in edible ink on pieces of white chocolate.
"It feels really good to be a part of that. I'm proud to be included in their celebration," said Gonzalez, the father of three children ages 11 to 26. He and his wife of nearly 30 years are also grandparents to a 6-month-old and a 2½-year-old.
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This was the second year the TEACh Scholars event took place on campus, and Gonzalez didn't hold back on the special effects.
He whipped 4-pound blocks of cream cheese into frosting that was later sprinkled with tiny, edible gold stars.He folded squares of parchment paper intopiping bags, the better to place dots of melted chocolate atop dollops of whipped cream infused with cacaonibs. And he turned house-made shards of white and dark chocolate into decorations that sprang out of each cupcake like edible fireworks.
"When you make it 'pop,' you make it more appetizing," he said.
Gonzalez's efforts don't go unnoticed by the honorees, said scholarship committee member Lynda Bowman.
"This year the cupcakes were vanilla, chocolate, carrot and red velvet. Almost too pretty to eat, yet they all dive right in," Bowman said.
Similar dinners, three-day conferences andcamps devoted to karate, soccer and cheerleading help keep Gonzalez and the rest of the culinarycrew busy despite the disappearance of CSUCI's roughly 7,100-member student bodybetween graduation in mid May and the start of the fall semester in late August.
"People don't realize how much activity the campus sees in the summer," said Peter Maher, director of dining services.
Visitors this year included hundreds of children enrolled in Camp Hess Kramer and Gindling Hilltop Camp, which were forced to relocateafter the Woolsey Firenearly destroyed theiroriginal Malibu site in November.
When it comes to fulfilling requests from these and other summertime guests,"we canhave a vision of a dessert, and Sergio will interpret it beyond what we imagined," Maher added.
Gonzalezgets plenty of practice. During the school year, he routinely bakes more than 1,200 cookies a dayin addition to filling special requests. The latter often call for his signature chocolate truffles infused with honey or Cortas rose water. The treats are cloakedin dark chocolate and rolledin sanding sugar or edible glitter for extra sparkle.
Gonzalez, who lives in Canoga Park,worked his way up from dishwasher and prep cook during previous stints at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, the now-shuttered MOZ Buddha Bar in Agoura Hills, Zin Bistro Americana in Westlake Villageand the Wilshire Country Club in Los Angeles.
He was recruited to jointhe culinary team at CSU Channel Islands about two and a half years ago by Nic Manocchio, a former co-worker who is now executive chef and residential dining director for University Auxiliary Services.
Gonzalez is quick to credit chefs at his current and previousjobs with sharing their knowledge with him over the years.But lessons for the otherwise self-taught pastry chef really startedinDurango, Mexico, where Gonzalez grew up watching hisgrandmother make cookies and empanadas and his mother bake cakes.
"I remember waiting for her to take the cake out of the oven so she would cut the top off and let us eat it," hesaid with a smile.
Gonzalez usesthe sametrick, creating a flat surfacefor frosting andother decorations. The trimmed bits of cake are set aside for use in bread puddings or forcrumbling over other baked goods.
Aside from the occasional nibble from the pile of cake trimmings, Gonzalez doesn'teat much of what he makes. He'd rather watch diners do that. The problem? The early-morning hours inherent with being a pastry chef often mean Gonzalez hasgone home before his desserts are unveiled at catered dinners and other special occasions.
"The next day, I wait for the people who worked the event to tell me 'Oh, they really liked it' or 'They didn't'," he said.
Has anyone ever really said the latter?
Gonzalez paused, then smiled again.
"No," he said.
For information about University Auxiliary Services, click onhttps://bit.ly/2LTnSoJ. For details on CSUCI, go tohttps://www.csuci.edu.
CHEF SHUFFLES
There are two, semi-new faces in the kitchen at The Cave at the Ventura Wine Co., where a local baker is overseeing desserts (more about her in a minute) and where former sous chef Josh Tuzakwas named executive chef following the departure of Henry Martinez in midJune.(Moreabout him in a minute, too.)
Tuzak's promotion came just in time forshowcasing his culinary chops on The Cave'ssmall-plates menu, which changes on the first Tuesday of every month.
"There's freedom to express yourself as a chef, to break outside the 'pizza, burgers and tacos' box," said Tuzak. His inaugural menu for July offers those mainstays along with more adventurous fare.
Selections include chicharrón-like crispy chicken-skin sliders with togarashiand house-made cashew butter and strawberry jam ($12), Wagyu beef tartare ($12) plated in a semi-circlewithbutter lettuce,edible flowers, dabs of goatcheese and a sprinkling of grated cured egg yolk, and soft shell crab succotash ($16) made with tempura crab, bacon, lima beans, okra, tomatoes and basil.
Cheese and charcuterie plates ($16-$20), pizzas ($11-$14), salads ($11-$12) and The Cave Burger ($14, including fries or side salad) are also available. In a switch from the past, the same menu will be in effect throughout the day instead of changing between lunch and dinner. Happy hour has also been revamped to run from 3-6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Patrons have the option of pairing dishes with a bottle of wine purchased from the adjacent wine shop or with a 1-, 3- or 5-ounce pourfrom the self-serve, card-operated Enomatic machines in the cave-like dining room.
"It's different from any other experience you can find in Ventura," said Tuzak, who plans to showcase the food and wine-pairing possibilities by offering weekly specials keyed to certain wines. He also plans to reintroduce pasta to the menu next month.
A 2014 graduate of Ventura High School, Tuzak previously worked at Wood Ranch, Fresco II on the Marinaand theVentura Beach Marriott. He also participated in a now-shuttered culinary apprentice program offered by Ventura Adult and Continuing Education, or VACE.
Tuzakwasbusy soaking up the barbecue scene in Austin, Texas, when Martinez asked him to join the crew at The Cave.
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Martineztook the executive chef position in January.He started baking bread in house and revamped The Cave'spizza-dough recipe before moving on toNative Pizza, which is scheduled to open later this month at the former Palermo Italian Restaurant at 1751 E. Main St. in midtown Ventura.
Back at The Cave, new members on the culinary team include pastry chef Kayla Hernandez, a Ventura High School culinary arts teacher who also has a business called Kayke by Kayla.
Hernandez is updating the dessert menu to include cookies and vanilla bean ice cream, Italian sponge cake soaked in Champagne and served with seasonal berry compote, and lemon posset layered with blueberry sauce.
The Cave is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays(4435 McGrath St., Suite 301, 805-642-9449, https://thecaveventura.com).
THE TASTE OF VICTORY
For the second year in a row, two oenophiles with ties to Ventura County will help represent the U.S. when theWorld Wine Tasting Championshiptakes place Oct. 12 in the Loire Valley,France.
Gwendolyn Alley, of Ventura, and Sue Hill, of Meiners Oaks, won spotson Team USAby scoring 92 points and a second-place finish during the Wine Tasting US Open, a blind-tasting competition held July 14 at the Pierpont Inn in Ventura.
Also onthe team are Texas residentsTaylor Robertson and Jacob Fergus, who wonfirst place with a score of 101 points.
Lisa Stoll, owner of the Camarillo-based tour companyExplore Wines, served as a Team USA memberin2018, whenthe group tied for 14th in a field of 23.Last weekend, Stoll and Elan Glasser, of Santa Monica, scored 59 points, earning third place and "alternate" status, in case any members of the first- and- second-place teams dropout.
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Eleven teams of competitors and 24 individual spectators participated. They were given 12unidentified wines to taste,andjust eight minutes per wine to determine its varietal, region, producer and vintage. Points were awarded for each correct answer. (The top-scoring spectator was Colleen Murphy, of Westlake Village.)
"We found the reds to be harder to identify than the whites, as they were all chosen to be very similar in color, density and flavor to challenge us. The last one, which was a Touriga Nacional from Portugal, completely surprised us,"said Alley,who blogs as the Wine Predatorand teaches writing at Ventura College.
Alleyand Hill, who teaches fourth grade in Oxnard and works weekends in the Cantara Cellars tasting room in Camarillo,are childhood friends who have been collaborating on the Wine Predator blog since 2012.
"We've been getting together an average of 50 times a year for seven years to taste and pair wine, plus we go to as many trade events in Los Angelestogether as we possibly can," said Alley.
In other words, they're already well on their way to training for the international competition.
Airfare and accommodations for Team USA will be paid for by Wine Acuity, the Agoura Hills-based organization that manages the Wine Tasting US Open. CEO John Vilja was on the team in 2016, when the U.S. came in third behind China and France (https://wineacuity.com).
CHOW DOWN ON CHOWDER
Now in its fifthyear,Chowderfestat the Channel Islands Maritime Museum in Oxnard will includePeople's Choice voting for the "best" of the chowders prepared by at least a dozen area restaurants when it takes place 2-6 p.m. Aug. 4 in the museum parking lot.
Participating businesses will includeEmbassy Suites by Hilton Mandalay Beach Hotel & Resort, La Dolce Vita, Stonefire Grill and more. The team to beat? Sea Fresh Channel Islands, which scoredfirst-place wins in 2017and 2018.
Tickets are$25 in advance and $30 at the gate (3900 Bluefin Circle, 805-984-6260,https://www.cimmvc.org).
OPEN, SHUT AND IN BETWEEN
In case you missed it, the Open andShut column published in the July 13 Business section of The Star included information about the openings of Indian Rasoi in VenturaandJack in the Box in Newbury Park,the closings of Ambrosia by Caffrodite in Ventura andOld New York Deli & Bakery Co. in Newbury Park, the closed-for-remodeling status of Greek House Cafe in Simi Valley andupdates on Peirano's Market & Delicatessen in Ventura, Farmer Boys in Newbury Park and Tarantula Hill Brewing Co. in Thousand Oaks.
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To read it, click onhttps://bit.ly/2XVhuzt.
Lisa McKinnon is a staff writer for The Star. To contact her, send email to lisa.mckinnon@vcstar.com.
