Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/724773
7 4 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t by Michelle Ball / photos by Jeremy Ball WE DON'T USUALLY TEND TO THINK of kosher cuisine as a conduit for creativity. The laws for keeping kosher include numerous dietary limitations: restrictions on many meats and fish, including pork and shellfish; complete separation of meat and dairy; absence of most cheeses, as they contain rennet and/or animal fats; and many other restraints. For chefs used to work- ing with an unlimited list of ingredients, the Kashrut laws that guide kosher preparation could be viewed as inhibiting creativity. But this is far from true for Chef Gabe Garcia, Executive Chef of Tierra Sur, located at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California. Sitting down for my interview with Chef Gabe, an enthusiastic Hispanic-American from Oxnard sporting a Boston Red Sox baseball cap and working as Executive Chef at a kosher restaurant, I am reminded of this fantastic melting pot that we live in here in America. After graduating from culinary school in 2001, Garcia worked across the country, including Las Vegas and New Orleans, gleaning knowledge from various positions. In 2005, a friend from home told him about the opening of a new fine dining restaurant in Oxnard led by Executive Chef Todd Aarons. At the time, Oxnard wasn't exactly known for fine dining, let alone high-end, kosher cuisine. Garcia was intrigued and returned home. According to Chef Gabe, Aarons was his "true mentor"—and not just when it came to cooking kosher. "We were cooking kosher from the beginning, but at the same time we always thought about the big picture," says Garcia. He recalls Aaron's asking, "Why couldn't we blur the lines between kosher and non-kosher?" For them, it was about embracing the ingredients you were given and pushing the boundaries of modern food, while adhering to the laws of ko- sher. "What does it matter? Wow, you can't use butter. Wow, you can't use cheese," says Garcia with excitement. "You adapt, you overcome." ON CALIFORNIA'S CENTRAL COAST, TIERRA SUR PUSHES THE BOUNDARIES OF WHAT WE THINK OF AS KOSHER ADAPTATION Chef Gabe Garcia grew up in Oxnard, California, and graduated from the culinary school at the Los Angeles Art Institute in Santa Monica. Raised in a "strict blue collar family," his career was inspired by an uncle who had learned to cook in prison and earned a job at a high-end steakhouse when he got out. Torn between tattooing and cooking, his passion for creativity and growth through adaptation inspires the dishes we see on the Tierra Sur menu today. Housemade blue corn tortillas with tempura fried halibut, orange pico de gallo, cabbage slaw and an orange-cumin vinaigrette. Parting from tradition a bit, the halibut was light and flaky; the citrus- based accompaniments added brightness to the white fish while the heartier blue corn tortillas were full and satisfying. The cabbage slaw was deliciously bright and crunchy as it was mixed with pickled carrots, jicama, zucchini and bell peppers.