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Taste Academy

Photo by Christopher Gardner

The other CIA--the Culinary Institute of America-- trains chefs, not spies, at a peaceful West Coast retreat in the wine country

By David Templeton

In stark contrast to the massive, dark-gray stone edifice behind them, the students crouching on the terrace are positively aglow in their immaculate white chef's aprons and stiff white hats. Gliding, scissors in hand, among the mints and basils, thymes and garlics in the school's elegant organic herb garden, the students work quickly and quietly, breathing in the pungent aroma of the herbs, carefully selecting the raw materials of their craft.

In a few moments they will carry their treasures through the doorway of the 108-year-old, 400-foot-long, three-story former headquarters of Christian Brothers--the largest handcut-stone winery ever built. The cavernous interior, illuminated by ribbons of midmorning sun from tall, elongated windows, is festooned with bright banners and flags.

The air pops and echoes with footsteps, as the students stroll past the EcoLab Theater--a 125-seat, two-story amphitheater with a gourmet-cooking center as its stage--and on up two flights of stairs to emerge at their destination: a bright 15,000-square-foot kitchen of marble-and-oak counters, gleaming red ovens, pale tile floors, and windows that look out on a panorama of fields and vineyards.

This is Greystone, the recently opened West Coast campus of the Culinary Institute of America, commonly called the CIA and based in Hyde Park, N.Y. As much a spiritual retreat as it is a school, the Greystone campus in pastoral St. Helena is a place for professional working chefs from around the world to hone their skills and rekindle their culinary passions.

The CIA, a not-for-profit teaching facility with a solid reputation for turning out some of the finest chefs in the business, opened the California campus in August. An adjoining, professionally staffed eatery, the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, has been open to the public since October.

As for the teaching kitchen itself, designers were charged with creating a beautiful environment that would inspire everyone who entered to reach for greatness. Have they delivered? Greystone staffers certainly think so. As Cate Conniff, Greystone's marketing manager, boasts, "People walk in here and they are just blown away."

"It's spectacular," agrees baker Robert Jorin, the owner of Upscale Downtown Bakery in nearby Petaluma and a frequent guest instructor at Greystone. "It's probably the most beautiful kitchen in the world."

Jorin, who has taught at the Culinary Academy in San Francisco, is among the lucky chefs who have been called upon to guide students through courses at Greystone. The school, which has six full-time instructors, brings the rest of its teaching staff in from around the country, contracting them on a course-by-course basis.

"They have very high standards," Jorin says. "I had to go out there for two full days of practical testing before they'd even talk to me."

Jorin describes the Greystone philosophy. "They call it 'cooking from the ground up.' It's not just about mixing together a bunch of stuff. It's about knowing your ingredients. You pick your own herbs. You talk to the gardeners. You learn to recognize the freshest of the fresh. It's a very exciting way to teach."

The air outside is crisp and cold, but here in the teaching kitchen the temperature is perfect. Energy-efficient "cooking suites" (freestanding stove/oven/grill combos), combined with soaring 35-foot-high ceilings, work to keep the workplace comfortable.

Two cooking classes are currently in session on this side of the hall--"Ingredients, Flavor Dynamics, & Techniques of Evaluation" and "Mediterranean Fundamentals"--while a 30-week pastry certification class takes place at the other end.

Student Lu Hughes is busily preparing stuffed eggplant with lamb and rice, while classmate Ron McKeown, chef of Quebec's Quai-Sera Restaurant, kneads an enormous globe of Mediterranean flatbread dough. Chef-instructor Lars Kronmark leans in, quizzing each about the various ingredients, inviting experimentation, suggesting untried spices, encouraging boldness.

"It's a relaxed atmosphere," says Hughes as she sprinkles garnish across her dish, "and it's also intense. Lots of information, lots of tasting. I'm loving every minute of it."

In a while, one of the chefs will strike the giant, cylindrical bell at the center of the hall, signaling the end of the cooking portion of the day and the beginning of lunch. From the far recesses of the building, staff members arrive to help themselves, buffet style (on fine china, no less!), to the enticing inventions of the day. The students gather around the table, tasting, admiring, learning from one another even now.

"This is good," praises one, tasting a spicy tabouli. "Nice nutty flavor." At the other end of the table, someone has mentioned San Francisco chef Joyce Goldstein, a recent Greystone instructor. "She's magnificent," he beams. "A giant in the industry."

"Who knows," laughs McKeown, dishing up another helping. "Maybe they'll be saying that about us too some day."

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Greystone School: West Coast campus of the Culinary Institute of America. Offers classes for professional chefs, from beginning to advanced.

Restaurant: The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant showcases the CIA approach to cooking. Chefs are all graduates from the Hyde Park CIA.
Address: 2550 Main St., Saint Helena
Hours: Restaurant open daily except Tuesday. Lunch 11:30-3pm; seating at tasting bar 3-5pm; dinner 5-9pm
Phone: 707/967-1010 for restaurant


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