Now she’s back. The Cohn Restaurant Group just hired Gubbins under the title “Special Ops: Food & Flavor.” We talked to her about what the hell that means, where she’s been, and why she went from indie favorite to corporate bigwig…

Why’d you leave Parallel 33?

I was bored. It was an eight year run. I didn’t feel challenged. There was always promise of a second spot but it never happened. I’m constantly about growth. I need to grow all day long. And I was stopping their growth. Me leaving made room for chef Ben Moore.

Everyone wants to hear about Lenny Kravitz, so I have to ask. Let’s get that question out of the way. Tell me about his underwear drawer.

We’ve been friends for 20 years. I was living in New York at his house. The whole time he was fighting to get me on his payroll. I said, “Nope. As long as I’m with you, I’m feeding you.’” I was in the studio and got to watch the tracks get laid down for his album, It’s Time for a Love Revolution. When I told him I was leaving to go back to San Diego, he took me to the Bahamas. Driving down to Miami on the bus, he played me all the raw tracks from Love Revolution. We’d listen and he’d ask me what I think. I’d say, “I don’t hear the oboe,” and he’d have [his audio engineer] bring the oboe up in the song. So I listen to it now and think, ‘Wow, he let me be a part of that.’

Seems like a decent gig. Why’d you leave?

I missed San Diego. I missed my dogs.

So you joined Specialty Produce to do what?

I helped them get their farmers market program off the ground. I did that for 18 months. I’d go to the Santa Monica Farmers Market and find the best of what they had. I’d text pictures of this amazing produce to chefs like Christian Graves (Jsix) or Antonio Friscia (Gaijin). They’d text back and say, “Cool, get me 10 pounds.”

I’ve heard the market is pretty cutthroat among buyers…

It’s super-political. I’d have to call farmers up the night before and ask them what they were bringing. They’d tell me and then I’d say, ‘OK, now what are you bringing that you’re not telling me?’

How did the Sysco thing happen?

I was in Hawaii surfing with a friend—in between jobs again—and my phone starts ringing. It’s the VP of Sysco. He said he’d like to hire me. And I’m thinking ‘Sales person? I’d be the worst sales person in the world.’ And he said, ‘No, we have this corporate chef job that helps our customers develop their menus.’

I think most people’s response to you joining Sysco was, “What? How corporate and not sexy.”

You can throw stones at the big company on the outside and flip them off. Or you can infiltrate them and figure out their culture. I tried my best. I went in there and got blue in the face talking about organics and natural meats.

So what did you do, exactly?

These mom-and-pop restaurant owners would sign up to come into my test kitchen. I’d do three a day. I’d have Indian restaurants. One day I had an Indian, Vietnamese, Italian and BBQ joint. Thank god that I loved all the different ethnic foods. I’d teach ‘em, y’know, how to make a vinaigrette. It really shaped me up to do what I’m going to do with the Cohns.

And how’d this new Cohn thing come about?

This has been a six-year courtship. We’d had conversations before and were friends. But my attitude was, ‘I’m not going to close my restaurant and come work in yours.’ I told him three years ago, ‘I know in my heart of hearts we’ll do a project together. I just don’t know what or when.’

So what exactly is “Special Ops: Food & Flavor”?

It’s going to be like what I was at Sysco, but much more intimate. I’ll work with the chefs at the new restaurants to help develop the menus. We’ll start with the new ones: Bo-Beau (in La Mesa), Zig-Zag (Oceanside), the O.B. Warehouse and Sea 180 (Imperial Beach).

Why not just call yourself corporate chef or something?

I just came from the corporate world. Official titles are not my thing. David [Cohn] told me to think about what I wanted my title to be. I was in yoga one day trying to hold this really tough inversion and not topple over and I thought, ‘I’m special opps. I roll in there, elevate the menu, roll out.’

The Cohns bring Amiko Gubbins back to S.D. restaurants.

The post THE RETURN: Amiko Gubbins appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

There’s so much that we call the “essence of summer”—watermelon, corn, cucumbers, stone fruit. And they all fit the bill. But tomatoes. Oh, there’s no replacing their place in our summer feasting repertoire. For me, hot days point to making a big bowl of chunky gazpacho. I love making roasted tomato garlic soup; a simple fresh pasta dish with fresh chopped tomatoes, basil, goat cheese, and capers; heirloom tomato tarts; and skewered and grilled tomatoes to dunk in pesto or rub into a bruschetta. Most of all, I love slicing them in half, drizzling them with really good olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt, then taking some big messy bites.

Since it looks like this is my last Local Bounty post and it’s high season for tomatoes, I wanted to take us out with this summer favorite. We have lots of wonderful tomato local growers. You may even be a grower yourself. But, for this I thought I’d see what Specialty Produce was carrying for retail customers (you should see their new retail space) and area chefs.

Baby Heirloom Tomatoes

Mini Heirlooms

These varied beauties from Coastal Organics are miniatures of your favorite heirlooms. Some are as small as cherry tomatoes; others are about half the size of large heirlooms. They’re sweet and fleshy. Take advantage of the diversity of colors in a pasta salad or sliced and baked on a pizza. $4.50 a basket

Tomai Cherry Tomatoes

Cherry Tomatoes

I’m an annual Sweet 100 grower. They’re easy and so, well, sweet. It’s like growing candy. But, give me a basket of Tomai Family Farms varied cherry tomatoes, from standard red to black to sungolds, and I’m in tomato rapture. Chef Miguel Valdez of The Red Door Restaurant in Mission Hills offers a sweet slicing tip. Get two plastic container covers. Place tomatoes within the rim of one cover and top the tomatoes with the other. Then with a serrated knife—like a bread knife—slice the tomatoes horizontally. You’ll get half a dozen or more sliced in one cut, compared to doing them individually. Cherry tomatoes are, of course, great in salads, especially a caprese, but you can top pizza with them, make a compote, toss in pasta with gorgonzola cheese, or oven dry them with garlic and spread on bread.  $5 a basket

Heirloom Tomatoes

Conventional Heirlooms

These Tutti Fruitti Farm heirlooms are the gnarly ones we often see at the markets. Here we have Brandywines, which are a pinkish red and reminiscent of beefsteak tomatoes, and Cherokees, which are red with green shoulders. Brandywines are fleshy and terrific for sauces and salsa, for grilling, roasting with other vegetables like fennel or onions and served with shrimp. Cherokees lend themselves to slicing to show off their deep colors. Stack slices with burrata cheese, basil leaves, and red onion, then drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Slice and use in burgers or other sandwiches, make tomato jam. Both varieties are $4 a pound.

Early Girl Tomatoes

Early Girls

Ruby red with a rustic flavor, Early Girls are all about the flesh. Because they aren’t dripping with juice, they’re perfect for a smoked tomato sauce or panzanella salad. They’re French in origin, gown by Coastal Organics, and are $6 a pound.

The post Local Bounty: July 29 appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

This week my eye is on cherries, which, yes, are considered a stone fruit. I found four varieties of cherries this week at Specialty Produce. Now you may be used to seeing Bings and the Raniers I plucked today. But Specialty Produce’s Dana Chaldekas introduced me to three other varieties you’ve got to try.  And, sure you can nosh on them raw, but consider any of them for an easy clafoutis, ice cream, sauces that are just as perfect over angel food cake or in a crepe as over pork, duck or chicken. Jam them, pie them, add them to fruit salad. Just enjoy them now! They’re all $7 a pound at Specialty Produce.

cherries

Clockwise from top left: Brooks, GG1, Sequoia, Ranier cherries | Photos by Caron Golden

Brooks

These dark, glossy red cherries from Murray Family Farms in Bakersfield, have a pretty red flesh, not unlike the Bing. Sweet but not cloyingly so. They’re a hybrid of Burlat and Rainer varieties, great for eating out of hand, but terrific with savory ingredients like arugula, pine nuts, bacon, and tuna. They won’t last long, so get to them quickly once you get them home.

Sequoia

Sequoia cherries are a little brighter red and larger than the Brooks. Also from Murray Family Farms, they too have a light red flesh, but a complex sweet-tart flavor and they’re very juicy. Snacking is probably their best use, but pair them raw with burrata cheese, dark chocolate, berries, mint, and yogurt. They’re even good for jamming.

GG1

These deeply dark giant cherries, again from Murray Family Farms, are like none you’ve ever eaten. With just the right balance of sugar and acidity and plenty of juice, you probably won’t have any left over from addictively snacking to do any cooking with them. But if you can, these would make a beautiful jam or sauce—or clafoutis.

Ranier

Rainiers may be the most distinctive of the cherry varieties due to their multi-colored skin of pink and red with a blush of gold. Also unlike the other varieties here, their flesh is yellow, sometimes with red streaks near the pit. These Rainiers are from Frog Hollow Farm in Brentwood, Calf. (not that Brentwood; there’s one in Northern California). They can be a little acidic, but when they are at peak ripeness, sweet and mellow. Add these stunners to a fruit or cheese plate of fresh chevre, burrata, or aged cheeses to show them off. Pit them and mix together with basil, cilantro, mint, or oregano, perhaps some fruity olive oil, and chopped chiles to create a sauce for grilled pork chops or chicken. They’re also perfect for baking in pies, cakes, and tarts.

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