If, according to the late and wonderful Julia Child, “careful cooking is love,” California’s heart is bursting at the seams.
Over the years, the Golden State has established itself as a pioneer in fresh farm-to-table cuisine, a purveyor of internationally desirable wines and delicious microbrews, and a destination that is either creating or at least keeping its oven mitts on popular trends, including “green” alcohol and food truck culture.
“California has long embraced the idea of innovation, and that includes visionaries in the culinary field,” says Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California.
From an outing to Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, the restaurant where chef and food activist Alice Waters began using local, organic ingredients in the early 1970s to inspire the style of cooking called California cuisine, to brewery-hopping in San Diego, the state’s beer capital, planners are encouraged to incorporate California’s tasty offerings into a meeting agenda.
Main Course
California is filled with group-friendly restaurants and event venues where attendees will find both a great meal and a better understanding of the area.
Terrapin Crossroads (www.terrapincrossroads.net), a new restaurant and music venue in San Rafael, showcases both fresh ingredients in everything from salads to wood-fired pizzas, and local creative talent, namely performances by the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and his musician pals.
According to Amber Maifeld, event planner at Terrapin Crossroads, the venue specializes in intimate gatherings in its living room as well as larger events of up to 350 guests utilizing the main dining room and waterfront patio.
In Ventura County, Limoneira (www.limoneira.com), a major U.S. grower of lemons, avocado and oranges, now offers farm-to-table catered events in a variety of gathering spaces.
“We are blessed with fresh ingredients that are all around us, and I am always amazed at the creativity that flows from Limoneira’s on-site caterer, Jason Collis,” says John Chamberlain, spokesman for Limoneira, citing lavender lemonade and citrus-braised short ribs.
Chamberlain adds that Limoneira’s property, set in Santa Paula, is breathtaking and has views of the valley all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
“Guests will experience a setting unlike any other as they dine literally feet away from lemon and avocado orchards,” he says. PageBreak
Quick Bites
The gourmet food truck craze that became popular in Los Angeles—favorites there include Kogi BBQ’s Korean tacos, the Grilled Cheese Truck and Sprinklesmobile Cupcakes—is increasingly utilized by visiting groups across the state.
For example, according to Michael Krouse, senior vice president, sales and client services at Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board, AARP incorporated food trucks at the L.A.-based Life@50+ event.
Lindsay Wright, spokeswoman for Visit Oakland, says groups can enjoy the dozens of food trucks that fill Jack London Square during the annual Eat Real Fest (www.eatrealfest.com), which celebrates Oakland’s handmade craft foods, from bread and jam to kimchi and tempeh.
“It seems the food truck culture has become increasingly popular in California, especially in urban areas where people are seeking a bite to eat while on-the-go,” she says, explaining the street food connection to social media and technology may also be a reason why carts are growing in popularity, especially in Oakland and other parts of the Bay Area. “Many food carts post their location on Twitter or Facebook for followers to find.”
The food truck movement is also picking up speed in San Francisco, where SOMA StrEat Food Park (www.somastreatfoodpark.com) recently debuted. The park, accommodating roughly 200 diners, features numerous food trucks, a beer garden and a covered area with a large-screen TV. The park is available for corporate events, office parties and award ceremonies, and it can send food truck vendors to cater large events.
Farm Fresh
Fresno County, the “Agricultural Capital of the World,” with over 350 different crops produced there, boasts a bunch of farmers’ markets and stores selling all manner of locally grown and produced items, including honey, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
According to Melanie Coventry, spokeswoman for the Fresno/Clovis CVB, Simonian Farms (www.simonianfarms.com) is a roadside farm stand that perfectly represents the area.
“It has developed into an Ag Disneyland of sorts and now offers a complete meeting venue with a time capsule theme,” she says. “There is even a shooting gallery right in the meeting room.”
Heading south to Santa Barbara is Market Forays (www.marketforays.com), which offers cooking classes and customized culinary tours highlighting the area’s sustainable products.
According to Michelle Rodriguez, spokeswoman at the Santa Barbara Conference & Visitors Bureau and Film Commission, an outing could include a harbor visit, where groups will shop for fresh seafood right from the boats, a stop at a farmers’ market to learn how to shop for quality ingredients, and finally a hands-on cooking class followed by a shared feast.
And a bit farther south in Santa Monica, groups can learn how to pick the best seasonal ingredients via Michael’s (www.michaelssantamonica.com) monthly tour of the Santa Monica Farmers Market (www.smgov.net/portals/farmersmarket).
“We introduce attendees to the best farmers, people I’ve known for years, and explain how to select the absolute best, freshest fruits and vegetables of the season,” says Michael McCarty, owner of Michael’s Restaurants, whose Santa Monica location has been sourcing ingredients from local farmers since 1979. “Then, back at the restaurant, we sit down in our beautiful garden patio and enjoy a lunch created using ingredients from that day’s shopping trip—accompanied by great wine from our renowned cellar, of course.”
tasty tour
Another excellent food tour option is San Francisco’s Edible Excursions (www.edibleexcursions.net), founded in 2004 by Lisa Rogovin. The firm just launched another hot walking tour: Mission 18th Street, which explores one of the city’s hippest culinary corridors. Artisan food shops, bakeries, restaurants and markets are highlights of the tour, and tastes may include gourmet pizza, wine, cheese, pastries and tacos. PageBreak
in on the action
Cooking schools that allow attendees to be a chef for a day, then enjoy the fruits of their labor are all the rage nowadays.
Two standout options in San Francisco are Hands On Gourmet (www.handsongourmet.com), which has a slick kitchen in the city’s warehouse-centric Dogpatch district, and Parties that Cook (www.partiesthatcook.com), which uses a variety of spaces, including the landmark Bentley Reserve’s new gourmet catering kitchen, filled with state-of-the-art equipment and amenities.
That’s the ‘Spirit’
Napa Valley is filled to the brim with wine, including blends at Calistoga’s B Cellars Winery and Tasting Salon (www.bcellars.com).
Here, according to co-founders Jim Borsack and Duffy Keys, groups can experience a fun team-bonding program, Wine Blending Boot Camp. This hands-on experience takes participants behind the scenes of creating an artisanal blended wine and includes a tour of the vineyard, a tasting, a blending lesson and a gourmet catered lunch.
On the Central California Coast is Santa Maria, which boasts a barbecue culture (www.santamariavalleybbq.com) dating back to the mid-1800s and emerging popularity as a purveyor of fine wines.
“Santa Maria-style barbecue is founded on local ingredients, and it offers a savory match for Santa Maria Valley wines, which can be sampled at more than a dozen local tasting rooms,” says Gina Keough, manager of the Santa Maria Valley COC and Visitor and Convention Bureau. “The result is a remarkably distinctive food and wine experience, one with deep roots and true local flavor.”
Many Santa Maria area wineries, Keough notes, offer group event venues.
Beer is giving wine a run for its money throughout the state, including in Mammoth Lakes, where Stellar Brew Cafe (www.stellarbrewnaturalcafe.com) is leading the charge with gluten-free options, according to Michael Vanderhurst, industry relations and sales manager at Mammoth Lakes Tourism.
In San Diego County, a star in the craft beer world that was recently called a “sunny heaven for suds lovers” by The New York Times, there are more than 45 popular neighborhood craft breweries.
“Delegates can meet the locals and sample award-winning local brews,” says Margie Sitton, senior vice president of sales and services at the San Diego CVB, adding that group outings with companies like Brew Hop (www.brewhop.com) provide tours complete with door-to-door service from hotels.
Life Is a Box of Chocolates
The San Diego area is also a good place to satisfy a craving for something sweet.
According to the San Diego CVB, Carlsbad-based Chuao Chocolatier (www.chuaochocolatier.com), which offers a line of exotic handmade truffles, hosts team-building events wherein participants learn about making chocolate and pairing it with beer, wine or other spirits.
To the north of San Diego in Irvine is Qzina Institute of Chocolate & Pastry (www.qzina.com), a training facility for chocolatiers, pastry chefs and food enthusiasts.
Here, according to Wendy Haase, director of tourism marketing at Destination Irvine, groups are welcome to partake in the Bean to Bar Experience, which includes a chocolate history lesson, tasting Qzina’s farmer-known, direct-source cacao, and learning how to roast, winnow, grind, refine and conche chocolate. Attendees will then taste and take home samples.
