Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/760410
7 0 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t IF WE ARE INDEED PRODUCTS of our environment, what does that say about chefs and the influence of their surroundings upon their cuisine? This becomes especially pertinent when it involves those who cook in one of the most picturesque areas of our country, the Southern California coast. With the perpetually caressing sounds of the Pacific surf, coupled with dramatic panoramas of sandy beaches, seaside cliffs and the invigorating mixture of sea breeze and salt spray, one doesn't have to venture far to find inspira- tion. In fact, I found four of Southern California's most innovative chefs all with the ocean literally right outside their kitchens. Ocean Insite: Chef Rachel Haggstrom It was while I was attending the Newport Beach Food & Wine Festival earlier this year and staying at the recently revitalized Balboa Bay Resort that I became reacquainted with their new Executive Chef, Rachel Haggstrom. The last time I had the pleasure of experiencing Chef Rachel's cooking, she was the resort's Chef de Cuisine. Now, with the resort's dramatic $30-million makeover—which included updating their elegant fine dining Water- line restaurant and adding a vibrant new gastropub called A&O (Anchors & Oceans)—Chef Rachel has been promoted to Executive Chef and oversees both of these widely divergent restaurants. With its remodeled blue and white decor and spacious windows opening onto a harbor berthed with million dollar yachts, Waterline attracts a more traditional clientele than more casual A&O, with its rollicking atmosphere, eclectic drinks, outdoor fire pits and an emphasis on shared plates. "A&O gives me a chance to do what I can't do at Waterline," says Rachel of the two restaurants' different personalities. "A&O is rustic and playful. Waterline is more refined and delicate." As mouth-watering evidence of how she expertly bridges the gaps, at Waterline one of her favorite dishes is their signature lobster roll, which incor- porates avocado, cucumber, cilantro and chipotle seasoning, all wrapped in soy paper, topped with micro greens and a morning radish, and featuring a yuzu-wasabi dipping sauce. In fact, this was one of the dishes she served to attendees during the first day of the Newport Food & Wine Festival. On the second day she served a favorite inspired by A&O, a bone marrow "cheese-it"—beef tartar with a pepper dusting and sitting on a "cheese-it" perched over a hollowed-out bone. She also regaled guests with a foie gras s'more, consisting of foie gras, smoked marshmallow with chocolate ganache and a house- made graham cracker seared with an A&O "brand." But at Waterline, Chef Rachel excels with more conservative classics such as T-bone of lamb served with roasted red bell pepper, chimichurri, squash and zucchini garnished with half a sweet snap pea and a ratatouille-stuffed squash blossom with Israeli couscous. "I love cooking with citrus," she says, "and in Cali- fornia everything is driven by fruits and vegetables, but having the ocean right in front of you helps keep things in balance." The Craftsman-style Studio restaurant at Montage Resort, Laguna Beach, is majestically perched on a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. At Splashes Restaurant at the Surf & Sand Resort, Executive Chef Ron Fougeray skillfully utilizes an abundance of ingredients he could not find as easily in his native Philadelphia. PHOTO COURTESY OF SURF & SAND PHOTO: RICHARD CARLETON HACKER Shore Bets FINDING CHEFS WHERE THE SURF MEETS THE SKILLET by Richard Carleton Hacker s COASTAL CHEFS