Photograph by George Sakkestad
Chef Gary Messick brings New Orleans and French influences to the California Cafe in Los Gatos.
By Suzanne Cristallo
At the California Cafe in Los Gatos' Old Town, chef Gary Messick brings to his profession the influences of the people and places of his life.
Messick, now 38, was an Army brat who grew up never living more than three years in any one place. New Orleans, however, made an impression. There he learned to appreciate food--fresh fish, French and Creole cooking. An after-school restaurant job taught him respect for the skills of kitchen staffers who could shuck a dozen and a half oysters to his three and for the customers who could relish them as an appetizer before settling in to lunch.
A backpacking trip through Europe after college taught him that in Europe, eating is an event of social significance; both for the family, which always eats together, and for society at large, which appreciates good taste and superior skills. It is serious business.
When he returned to Los Angeles, he asked the French chef at Bistango's Restaurant to teach him to cook. For a year and a half, he was the chef's apprentice, helping to create 500 meals a night for minimum wage. From there, he moved on to an apprenticeship at L'Orangerie.
Burnt out by the grueling pace, Messick took on a consulting job for an Ohio restaurant that was losing money. He organized a successful reopening, which attracted the attention of a headhunter representing the 19-restaurant Califonia Cafe chain. The chain was interested in changing its style and becoming more chef-driven at the local level. In 1994, the chain hired Messick, who by now had realized that he had found his life's work.
Messick's menu represents much of his French- and New Orleans-cuisine background. Essentially California cuisine with main courses in the $13.95-$19.95 range, there is lots of fish, shellfish, pasta and the house favorite, Chinese chicken salad. Messick believes in paying close attention to what customers want. One method is a close observation of what's left on the plate at the end of a meal. Another is to listen to the occasional customer he allows to spend six hours in his kitchen participating in a day in the life of a chef--a unique program he calls "Culinary Adventures."
California Cafe, Old Town, 50 University Ave., Los Gatos. Open for lunch and dinner. Mon-Thurs., 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Fri. and Sat. 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m., Sun. brunch, 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and dinner 4-9:30 p.m. 354-8118.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, June 5, 1996.
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