One of the absolute best deals in San Diego recently? A $12 ribeye from one of the better chefs in the city. A $10 pasta dish he made for a wedding. Jeff Rossman was one of the first local chefs to cook modern farm to table with his restaurant, Terra, which he opened in 1998 with his dad who had run a restaurant in Mission Valley called Pam Pam.
Last year, he started getting so much catering business that he converted his restaurant in College Area to a catering hub. The secret about catering? When you order steak or a pasta or some elaborate farm to table dish for your big life event, the caterer cooks an “overrun”—15-20 percent more food than they think will be needed based on the amount of guests.
Nothing worse than running out of food at a wedding.
Usually, the unused overrun goes to staff or is donated—both of which Rossman does. But now he’s started something called “Zero Waste Gourmet,” where he sells those dishes at his restaurant space the day after for some ridiculously low price. A ribeye in a bordelaise sauce with some smashed potatoes and glazed local farm carrots for less than $15 (I’m making this up now, because it always changes based on the event).
Rossman makes his food costs back as a business owner, and those in the know get a screaming deal on big-day meals.
He visits Happy Half Hour to talk about the ins and outs of the catering world. We also hail the magic of Sushi on a Roll, and name some of our top farm-to-table restaurants in the city—the ones really doing it right and working with farmers, ranchers, growers, makers—and doing it well. From Nine-Ten to Callie, Market, and others.
