A Taste of Woodside A Taste of Woodside (September 01, 2004)

Local chefs and vintners join Rotary Club for an "epicurean adventure" with great food, wine and music

By Jane Knoerle

Shades of the French Laundry. From lobster quesadilla to genoise aux fruit, the Woodside/Portola Valley Rotary Club is putting on an eight-course "A Taste of Woodside" dinner on Sunday, September 26, at the Mountain Terrace up on Skyline Boulevard.

This is no spaghetti feed fundraiser, but an elegant sit-down dinner where chefs vie to outdo each other in showcasing their talents. Wine from Santa Cruz Mountain vintners will be paired with each course.

"A Taste of Woodside" is a bold step for the Woodside/Portola Valley Rotary Club, whose previous fundraisers include the Pooch Pageant (September 12 this year) and a pancake breakfast. The little club of 20 members has latched onto a big idea through new member Andy Kerr, who with his brother, Jamie, bought Alice's Restaurant in Woodside two years ago. The Kerr brothers grew up in Woodside, just a half-mile from the restaurant.

The Kerrs are also partners in the new venture across Skyline Boulevard at the Mountain Terrace, best known to longtime locals as the former Skywood Chateau restaurant. The Kerrs joined with six other partners, mostly longtime friends, to open the Mountain Terrace as a wedding reception and event venue.

How is it doing? "Great -- we will have 100 weddings there this year," says Andy. Terri Shearer, the managing partner, said she's been fielding 20 calls a day since listing the Mountain Terrace in a popular guide to wedding and reception venues.

The Mountain Terrace has a refurbished lodge-like interior with a large dining room, comfortable bar area and stones fireplaces. Outside, a sunny deck overlooks a vast grassy meadow surrounded by redwood trees.

Putting on a gourmet dinner featuring nine local restaurants and eight vintners seemed to Andy Kerr like an opportunity that would benefit all involved. First, the event would raise money for the Rotary Club's philanthropic projects. Second, it would enable local restaurateurs to get to know and work with each other. Last, it would encourage locals to patronize Woodside and Portola Valley restaurants, including Alice's and Mountain Terrace.

Rotary members, including president Donna Baranski-Walker, backed the ambitious project.

On September 26, guests will arrive at Mountain Terrace at 4 p.m. The evening will begin with wine and appetizers on the terrace. Chef Jorge Coronado of Buck's of Woodside is preparing mini lobster quesadillas with mango salsa, avocado and sour cream. Chef Rufino Pacheco of Alice's and the Encore Catering Company are whipping up stuffed mushrooms, prawns with prosciutto, and "lollipop" lamb chops.

Woodside Vineyard's sparkling wine and Page Mill Winery's sauvignon blanc will be paired with the appetizers. The Pegasus Quartet will provide music during the cocktail hour.

Goodies will keep on coming as guests are seated at round tables for eight on the deck. Each table will have its own server.

Mark Sullivan of the Village Pub will prepare gazpacho made with heirloom tomatoes and garnished with diced summer vegetables and garlic croutons. Chef Sullivan also recently served gazpacho at Vintage Affaire, a benefit for the Peninsula Center for the Blind held in Atherton. Page Mill sauvignon blanc will accompany the chilled soup.

Carolyn Jung, food editor of the San Jose Mercury News and master of ceremonies for the dinner, will discuss each course as it is served and explain why a particular wine was chosen to go with the food. In May, Ms. Jung's food and wine section was named a finalist for a James Beard award for "Best Food Section."

The next course, pan-seared day boat scallops with carrot puree and saffron fume, a signature dish at John Bentley's of Woodside, will be prepared by chef Tom Stevenin. Cinnabar Santa Cruz Mountains chardonnay and Fogarty Winery 2001 Santa Cruz Mountains chardonnay will be paired with the dish.

Course four will be pepper-and-sesame-crusted ahi tuna with seaweed/cucumber salad and wasabi and avocado cream -- the creation of chef Blair Waycott of Parkside Grille in Portola Valley. Both Storrs and Fogarty wineries will be pouring gewurztraminer wines.

Deciding which of each restaurant's specialties would be included in the dinner fell to Marcy Steiner, Mountain Terrace chef, working in conjunction with the guest chefs. Portions will be small enough so that diners can enjoy each of the eight courses.

After a few courses, it might seem a good idea for guests to get up and run around the spacious lawn to make room for yet another piece de resistance : a roast New Zealand elk chop with hazelnut crust and brandy Dijon cream sauce prepared by chef Jerry Olson of the Mountain House. Wines will be Ridge Geyserville zinfandel 2002 and Martella syrah 2001.

Bonny Doon's vin gris will accompany the Little Store's warm Napa cabbage salad, which chef Galdino Bravo prepares with bacon, mushrooms, blue cheese, pine nuts and red wine vinaigrette.

Mountain House's Marcy Steiner's prelude to dessert will be fig and goat cheese with chives wrapped in phyllo dough with reduced-port drizzle. Ms. Steiner, who has cooked at Stars and Piatti, prepares the Sunday brunch served at Mountain House and caters many weddings held there. Fogarty pinot noir will accompany the course.

Pastry Chef Jesus Mendoza hopes guests will have saved room for dessert, which will be a choice of tiramisu cake or genoise aux fruit from the Woodside Bakery. The bakery will also provide focaccia, which is baked twice a day. Bonny Doon muscat vin de glacier will be served with dessert

All the chefs are donating their labor. Three purveyors are donating ingredients for the meal. The vintners are donating their wine. Sponsors for the event are Wells Fargo Bank, Bianchini's Market, and Remax Pioneer Skywood.

Mr. Kerr admits it will take some doing to keep this grand plan running smoothly. Many of the foods can be prepared ahead of time; however, courses, such as day boat scallops and ahi tuna, will have to be prepared on site. "We're going to bring in some extra line cooks to give an extra hand if needed," he says.

Logistics aside, Mr. Kerr says he's thrilled with the cooperation between the restaurants and wineries. "They've been fantastic to work with and very enthusiastic. We hope this dinner is a good focus to familiarize people with all the great restaurants we have here in Woodside and Portola Valley."

Sales are brisk for the dinner, which can accommodate only 125 guests at a cost of $150 each.

Rotary hopes to raise money to support its community and international projects. Rotary has been involved in Rebuilding Together (Christmas in April); Habitat for Humanity; starting a tuberculosis-detection laboratory in Orizaba, Mexico; helping build a playground for needy kids in Redwood City; supporting the Girls Club of the Mid-Peninsula in East Palo Alto; equipping a computer lab in a library in Guatemala; helping dig 17 fresh-water wells in India; and supplying medicine to two medical clinics in Guatemala.

For tickets and information about "A Taste of Woodside," go to www.tasteofwoodside.com or call Andy Kerr, 851-0303.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.