Chef’s Corner with Dory Ford

 

The Restaurant at Ventana Inn & Spa in the heart of Big Sur utilizes local, sustainable ingredients from California’s Central Coast. The lodge-like atmosphere is cozy yet casual. Chef Dory Ford’s goal as we learned, is to educate and to create memorable dishes.

journeyPod enjoyed a tasting with Chef Dory. Our favorites included the truffle pasta with sea salt. We even went back the next night just for a plate of it! And while we tried to find out where Chef Dory harvests his own sea salt, it just didn’t happen!

Chef Dory joined journeyPod over a glass of wine in front of the fireplace at The Restaurant to give us some inside scoop on where to eat, and some cooking tips.

Where do you like to dine on your night off?
There are two great places just a mile down the road each way. The first is Deetjen’s and the other is Big Sur Bakery.

What do you look for when you first enter a restaurant?
I go to check-out the bathroom! It’s usually a good representation of the rest of the restaurant.  I also look to see how much storage area they have. If there is not a lot of storage area, I know the ingredients must be fresh!

Is there anything you won’t eat?
Well, I don’t eat a lot of fish. It’s not because I do not like it, I am just very sensitive to the state of our oceans. Working at the Monterey Aquarium gave me lots of inside knowledge; made me much more aware.

What advice can you offer to cooking enthusiasts?
Read and cook as much as you can. In today’s society we depend on places like Chilli’s and we’re not cooking anymore. We’re sacrificing health, and the family unit. We’re losing our cooking skills!

Talk to me about something unique that is on your menu that we’ll be trying later tonight.
The rabbit. I like to have more than “chicken-pork-beef” on my menu. The diversification of food and diet is important and I’d like to think I can help people diversify their diets, maybe try something different. My goal with my menu is to educate. Believe it or not Chefs have a lot of power…and I like to do something with that power.

For more information on Ventana Inn & Spa, stay tuned for our upcoming podcast on Big Sur, California.