My New Family

I found a home. It’s a restaurant. Actually, fittingly enough, it’s a restaurant in a converted home. I am the latest addition to the Cafe Juanita family.

Last September, I volunteered at the James Beard house for a guest chef and winemaker dinner with chef Holly Smith of Cafe Juanita and winemaker Mark McNeilly of Mark Ryan Winery. I helped out in the kitchen (as well as taking turns keeping Holly’s adorable son entertained and out of the kitchen) and had a great time with Holly, Mark, and everyone in their crew. Before moving to NYC, I had the opportunity to dine at Cafe Juanita on two different occasions. Both times I had a fantastic meal and a wonderful experience. Cafe Juanita was ranked among my favorite restaurants in Seattle (along with Mistral and Harvest Vine). So I was excited to have the opportunity to spend some time in the kitchen with chef Smith and her team. I shouldn’t fail to mention as well that Mark Ryan has some fantastic wines and I was happy to get to drink them with the winemaker himself.

A month or so ago, I decided to email chef Smith to let her know my return to Seattle was impending and to see if she had any leads for me, if she knew of anyone looking for a pastry cook. As it turns out, she did in fact know of someone looking… her! She is in the process of starting a new venture called Pococarretto Gelato and was looking for someone to help make the gelato and sorbetto. She already had me in mind, but I just beat her to the punch and emailed her first.

Fast forward to this past week. I went into Cafe Juanita on Thursday to trail and to talk to chef Smith about the job opportunity. She was having a press event that afternoon where she gave out samples and talked about Pococaretto. I showed up early and helped make some of the gelato and then helped the pastry chef, Jason, with his production tasks for the day. I enjoyed myself and thought that everyone in the restaurant was very friendly. Like I said, Cafe Juanita is one of my favorite restaurants, but that wouldn’t be enough on its own to make me want to work there. When you are working long hours in a tight space with the same people every day, it is important to make sure that personalities align. Having met Holly and a couple of her staff already last year, I figured I would get along well with the rest of her staff. Sure enough, they are all very friendly and easy-going. At the end of the day, she and I sat down to talk and the opportunity.

I will be coming in as the pastry sous chef and will be making the product for Pococaretto, as well as assisting Jason, the pastry chef, with the desserts for the restaurant. Most likely, I will be doing production three days a week in the mornings and then dinner service two days a week (Friday and Saturday nights). I am very excited to get started. So, if you are a reader of this blog and you’re in Seattle, stop by to say hello!