New Post Ranch Chef Pioneers Environmental Cuisine
Chef John Cox saw piles of giant kelp as he was walking down the beach at Big Sur, not far from the Post Ranch Inn’s Sierra Mar restaurant where he was just hired as executive Chef. Most of us would have just ignored it and continued walking, but he started wondering how he could use kelp in the new dishes he is developing for the spectacular cliff-top dining spot.
The otherworldly and creative result: thin-sliced Monterey Bay red abalone wrapped in kelp and smoked over driftwood, accompanied by pickled kelp stems with wild fennel.
And that’s just one of the inventive creations on Chef Cox’s exciting new 8-course Big Sur Menu.
“Adventurous, explorative fine dining,” is the way Cox describes the changes he is making at Big Sur’s most influential restaurant. “I want Sierra Mar’s cuisine to be about the Big Sur environment, something you can’t find anywhere else—to have a sense of place or as they say in winemaking, terroir.”
This is Cox’s second stint at the Post Ranch. He worked there as chef de cuisine from 2001-2003, then became corporate executive chef at the Hotel Hana Maui and others in the Passport Resorts family. He returned to our area three years ago and has been Executive Chef at Carmel’s acclaimed Casanova restaurant and La Bicyclette restaurants since 2009.
“Coming back to the Post Ranch Inn, I am seeing it with different eyes,” he says. “I am more mature and have a more established philosophy. Now I know exactly what I want to do.”
Since beginning his new job as executive chef at Sierra Mar earlier this month, Cox has been taking some time to explore the historic 100-acre Post Ranch property.
“Post Ranch is an amazing place. There’s so much more than just the beautiful chef’s garden. I walk around the property and see all sorts of inspiration, like wild sorrel growing under the redwood trees” says Cox, an avid and experienced forager.
There are also heirloom apple trees planted by the original homesteaders and a Spanish variety of quince that he will combine with rose hips and rose petals to make Rose-Quince Membrillo.
Cox, who has written and photographed articles on seafood, foraged herbs and other topics for Edible Monterey Bay, admits to being something of a geek when it comes to exotic ingredients.
“You can see from my articles that I am gung ho about researching things. For instance, I was interested in the bay laurel trees on the property and found out that Spanish settlers used to grind up the leaves and use them like pepper to season their food,” he said, adding that tender baby bay leaves have a delicate flavor and may be appearing in some of his dishes.
In addition to its cuisine, the Post Ranch Inn is known for its extraordinary “organic” architecture. Sierra Mar’s glass-walled dining room seems to float in the air over the cliffs, providing views up and down the wild Big Sur coast. Guest rooms are built of natural materials, some on stilts, some curving around old growth trees.
“The architect Mickey Muennig tried to create buildings that would complement the cliffs, that have a symbiotic relation to the landscape,” said Cox. “Like him, I want the menu at Sierra Mar to reflect what you are looking at and have a connection with that view.”
“You can go to fine restaurants in Sydney or Paris and eat the same foie gras or truffles, but none of those restaurants are going to serve you baby bay leaves,” he laughs.
Cox is getting ready for the LA Food and Wine Festival in August. One of his appearances will be at the $500 a person “Delicacy Dinner” at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. While other chefs will be preparing caviar and lobster, Cox revealed that he is planning a dish using sea grapes harvested from the Big Sur coast—a delicacy indeed.
For more on Cox’s discoveries and the new dishes that he’s introducing at Sierra Mar, see his blog, “The Post Ranch Kitchen,” at http://www.postranchkitchen.blogspot.com.
For a story on Chef Cox’s new plans for Sierra Mar, visit our article, “Passing the torch at Big Sur’s Post Ranch’s Sierra Mar Restaurant.“
About the author
Deborah Luhrman is publisher and editor of Edible Monterey Bay. A lifelong journalist, she has reported from around the globe, but now prefers covering our flourishing local food scene and growing her own vegetables in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
