story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 8/9/18
At the Bear and Star, class is in session.
The popular
Los Olivos restaurant helmed by Chef John Cox is launching a series of super
intimate, hands-on cooking classes this weekend. The first in the series,
dubbed “Summer BBQ,” will focus on techniques for grilling local seafood and
shellfish. Scheduled for 4-8pm, it’ll culminate with a sit-down meal with Chef
Cox and his team.
“For me,
these classes are something I felt there was a need for,” says Chef Cox, who,
in partnership with the Fess Parker family, helped launch the restaurant in May
of 2017 inside the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn. “Plus, I love interfacing with
customers.”
Classes will
be limited to just 12 students.
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| The Bear and Star team leading the new BBQ cooking classes, from left: Chef Trent Shank, Chef Jeremy Tummell & Chef John Cox |
The
inaugural session will highlight the bounty in Santa Barbara’s waters and take
on a culinary topic that many home chefs find “intimidating,” according to Mr.
Cox.
“I think
people just need permission to see and understand how easy grilling seafood can
be,” he says. “With seafood that's fresh, all it’s about is not messing it up!”
Ahead of
this Sunday’s class, Chef Cox will visit the Santa Barbara Fisherman’s
Market, the every-Saturday experience that allows consumers to buy the
morning’s fresh catch right off the fishing boats. “This is something I do
every Saturday,” says the chef, who lives on a boat in the Santa Barbara
Harbor.
Based on
what Saturday reels in, Sunday’s class and menu will highlight techniques for
making Pacific Coast Oysters “Rockefeller” Style; local sea urchin prepared
with Meyer lemon and garlic butter; goat cheese-stuffed summer squash with
basil; an heirloom tomato salad with grilled prawns and black radish
vinaigrette; whole grilled local rockfish with foraged fennel and house-made
chorizo; and dessert from the Parker family farm.
“Sea urchin,
for example -- it’s a lot easier to grill than people might think,” says Chef
Cox, who admits to preferring the echinoderm, famously harvested along the
Santa Barbara coast by diver Stephanie Mutz, raw. “But on the grill, we’ll use
a touch of cream, parmesan, lemon – almost making a sea urchin fondue inside
the shell. You get these smoky, mellow flavors and the cooking takes a bit of
the harshness out of the urchin. Grilling is an easy gateway to eating urchin.”
The class
and dinner costs $90 per person or $160 per couple, with a $50 upsell for wine
pairings curated by the Bear & Star’s wine expert, Allison Crawford.
Much of the
inevitable appeal of these first-ever classes at the Bear and Star stems from
John Cox’ own renown, which includes several years running the kitchen at the
legendary Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur and even a recent guest appearance on the
hit Food Network show, Beat Bobby Flay. Primarily, however, his notoriety is a
product of what he’s accomplished at what’s become one of the buzziest
restaurants in the Santa Ynez Valley: a home-grown program driven by an
unabashed pursuit for sustainability. Most every item on the Bear and Star
menu is raised, grown or harvested on the Parker family’s 710-acre ranch, less
than seven miles away, including Wagyu beef, pork, rabbits, quail, chicken and organically grown
vegetables, herbs and fruits. “A true ecosystem,” Chef Cox has called it in the
past.
Food is slow-smoked and
barbecued on the restaurant’s proprietary 30-foot custom reverse-flow Texas
smoker and no fewer than six Big Green Egg grills.
 |
| In July, I joined Chef Cox for a gorgeous dinner experience at the Parker ranch, w/all food cooked on that awesome smoker |
The cooking classes will
take place at the Bear & Star’s outdoor kitchen and inside the exclusive Chef’s Room. The second class in the series, BBQ Classics, is slated for
September 9th and will highlight techniques for perfecting brisket,
ribs and smoked chicken; it’ll be led by Chef Jeremy Tummel and John Cox. A
class titled Save the Autumn Harvest, an October 14th session led by
Chef Trent Shank and Mr. Cox, will focus on preservation techniques – smoking,
fermenting, pickling and canning – and include a visit to the Parker ranch to
harvest a variety of produce.
These classes are all
about making cooking accessible to consumers, says Chef Cox. “For us [chefs],
though,” he adds, “there’s nothing more exciting than interacting with people
who get excited about food and about preparing it and talking about it.”
For tickets, call
805-686-1359 or click here.
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