Farewell to George Munger, San Diego’s First Foodie
by Susan Davis on 08/06/09 at 6:42 pm
George Munger passed away in April at the age of 69, after complications from kidney cancer and heart problems. For those not familiar with his name, Munger was an icon in Southern California, specifically San Diego, where they affectionately consider him their first foodie.
When Munger and his wife Piret moved to San Diego from the midwest in 1974, the culinary-minded couple was dismayed to find that the area did not have a decent place to buy cookware. So with the help of friends, they turned a former hair salon into The Perfect Pan, a boutique that soon became a destination for up-and-coming cooks, newly awakened foodies and chef-wannabes.
“It was definitely an emporium for people who loved to cook,” Toni Allegra told the San Diego News Network. “It brought people together just the way TV does now, but there you got to know each other.” Allegra is an author and cooking teacher based in St. Helena, California.
A tall and formidable man (he stood 6-feet 7-inches tall), Munger offered cooking classes at the Perfect Pan, which he frequently taught dressed in Bermuda shorts. During its run, the Perfect Pan conducted more than 4,000 classes at three locations with some 50,000 students enrolled — taught by an array of world-class chefs.
The Perfect Pan was also the first place in the country to sell the Cuisinart food processor. Originally used in cooking classes, students immediately wanted to buy one after they saw how easily it could grind meat, chop vegetables and make a pie crust.
Until the Mungers showed up in San Diego, the restaurant landscape in the area was bland and forgettable, with its overabundance of chain and fast food eateries, peppered with the requisite Mexican cafés and drive-through joints. If you wanted an innovative and creative meal, there were only a few places available, and they all offered a cookie-cutter type of “continental cuisine.” So it was a natural progression for Munger to open up a restaurant. It was called Piret’s (after his wife) and it quickly ignited the San Diego restaurant scene. His imaginative menus were a breath of fresh, French country air, in a city that so desperately needed something besides the mundane chains and the stuffy haute cuisine. Despite Piret’s informal approach, Munger demanded excellence from his staff and fresh ingredients from his suppliers, setting a high bar for anyone that was to follow.
A popular and critical success, Piret’s was hailed by Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and James Beard, (whose personal favorite was the steak au poivre). Within five years, Piret’s had grown to a chain of six restaurants. In 1985, the couple authored Piret’s: The George and Piret Munger Cookbook (currently out of print), which became an immediate bestseller.
Piret’s Restaurants and The Perfect Pan were eventually purchased by VICORP Restaurants, Inc., but they were unable to maintain the Mungers’ success. The couple briefly reacquired two of the bistros, but the brand never recovered, and all of the restaurants eventually closed. Today, with Piret’s Catering, which is run by a family friend, the tradition continues. Drawing on the unique legacy of the past, coupled with the technology of today, the company provides customized high-quality and innovative food, artfully presented, and at reasonable prices.
“Piret’s and Perfect Pan were a breath of fresh air in San Diego,” said Munger’s widow, Piret, in an interview with the San Diego News Network. “George is really the father of the contemporary restaurant scene in San Diego.”
Munger will be remembered at a private gathering for friends, but it will not be called a memorial service. “It will be more like a get-together with good food and drink,” Piret Munger said, “given the sort of person he was.”
