La Serre - My Early Career

Chef James Sly at La Serre 1977

In 1977, I received a call from my friend James Sly. At the time I was a banquet sous chef at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel in Newport Beach, CA. Typically, my duties were cooking for large groups up to 1,500. Can you imagine 50 prime ribs roasting simultaneously or cooking Beef Stroganoff for 800? The work was more akin to a factory job. I was originally attracted to the hotel based on a food show where the chefs put on quite a display. Little did I realize that that was not the normal output of the kitchen. James proposed in that call that I become his sous chef at his first chef de cuisine position at the La Serre restaurant in Studio City, CA. We had already worked together at the fabled Chez Carey in Orange, CA. James was fresh off apprenticeships in France at illustrious places like the Hotel de Paris in Monaco and the Ritz in Paris. His tour burnished an already impressive resume. My response to the offer was a quick yes as it looked far more interesting that poaching 400 eggs for Eggs Benedict.

 

Natalie's Nook

 

 La Serre catered to the entertainment industry based in Burbank and Studio City. We had diners like Mohammed Ali, Natalie Wood, and Jonny Carson. Regular guests were flattered with a brass nameplate at their reserved table and in Natalie Wood's case, a gazebo was named after her. The decor mimicked a lush greenhouse festooned with white lattice and lots of greenery.

The attached menus are representative of what we were cooking at the time. It was an exciting era to be cooking as the food revolution was just getting started and chefs were coming out of the kitchen and into the spotlight. French chef luminaries passed through LA to promote the new way of cooking, Nouvelle Cuisine. James was dialed into that new wave and we proffered dishes like Truite Bocuse, Guerard's Nouvelle Cuisine, Gastone Lenotre's desserts and Troisgros creations. It was at La Serre where we first met the great chef Michel Richard. He delivered some petite fours pastries from his Robertson Boulevard pastry shop and it was clear he was a master of the craft. See my previous blog regarding Chef Michel.

After a time, chef James moved on and I then had my first chef position at La Serre. It was a great learning experience and positioned me to launch my career. Thanks, James!

  

 

 

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