Interview with Chef Bryan Jones of The Fig Cafe and Wine Bar

by Antonio on 24/07/09 at 8:32 am

Highlighting Quality Ingredients at The Fig Cafe

Having recently visited the Sonoma wine region in California, we are truly happy to have the privilege to interview Chef Bryan Jones. During our visit we had the pleasure of eating both at The Girl and The Fig in Sonoma and at the Fig Cafe and Wine Bar in Glenn Ellen. They were memorable visits to say the least. Local ingredients grown with care enter the Fig restaurants and are treated with the respect they deserve. We highly recommend that if you ever visit the area that you head over to these wonderful establishments. Here’s what Chef Jones had to say.

FriendsEAT: Chef Jones, we love the Fig Cafe, can you tell the community a little more about it?

Chef Bryan Jones: The fig cafe & winebar is a wine country neighborhood cafe where both winemakers and visitors to the Valley of the Moon eat & drink. The menu is what Sondra calls “country French home cooking” which allows me to cook many of my favorite foods. We serve dinner nightly and brunch on the weekends. I change the menu seasonally and we try to use as much local produce and product that we can get. We don’t take reservations and one of the best secrets to the fig cafe is that we never charge wine corkage.

FE: Where have you worked in the past?

CBJ: Cafe Rouge – Berkeley, CA; Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn – Sonoma, CA; Hyde Street Bistro – San Francisco, CA, The Old House – Santa Fe, New Mexico and the Park Hyatt in Avon, Colorado.

FE: Who was the biggest influence on your cooking?

CBJ: Marsha McBride of Cafe Rouge in Berkeley with her hard work and passion for producing authentic regional Mediterranean cuisine.

FE: What made you decide to become a chef?

CBJ: I was always thinking about food & decided that I should make a career out of what I love doing.

FE: What are the biggest misconceptions you see from budding chefs?

CBJ: It is not all fun & glamour.

FE: And what would be your advice to them?

CBJ: For the upcoming professional, study as much as you can and keep your eyes open to learning even the most obscure details of the business.

FE: What are the most essential tools to your trade?

CBJ: Spice Grinder, Microplane and the Chinese Vegetable Cleaver

FE: And the funniest kitchen incident?

CBJ: Can’t talk about it in public.

FE: The ingredient you most like to cook with?

CBJ: Pork – such a versatile product to work with.

FE: When you’re home, what are we going to find you eating?

CBJ: Anything off the grill

FE: What’s your favorite cookbook.

CBJ: Mark Bittman – How to Cook Everything

FE: When you’re in your kitchen, what do you pride yourself in?

CBJ: Having eyes in the back of my head.

Chef Bryan Jones’ Chocolate Pot De Crème Recipe
Serves 6

1 cup milk
3/4 cup cream
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350’.
Roughly chop chocolate.
Place milk and cream in pot and bring to a boil, remove from heat. Add chocolate and vanilla, cover and allow chocolate to melt.
In a large bowl, whisk until the egg yolks and sugar combine. Remove foam.
Stir chocolate mixture until smooth and consistent. Slowly whisk into egg mixture. Strain mixture and chill until cool for about 1 hour.
Place ramekins in a pan. Fill ramekins with chocolate. Cover pan.
Cook in a water bath about 1 hour or until just set.

The Fig Cafe
13690 Arnold Drive
Glen Ellen, CA 95442
707-938-2130

Have you been there? We have! Let us know what you think.

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