Jeremiah Tower
Encyclopedia
Jeremiah Tower is an American celebrity chef
who, along with Wolfgang Puck
, Alice Waters
, and Jonathan Waxman
, is generally credited with developing the culinary style known as California cuisine
.
, son of a managing director of an international film sound equipment company. A food lover, he had no formal culinary education before beginning his career as a chef
. After earning a Masters Degree in Architecture
from Harvard University
, he had intended to pursue design of underwater structures in Hawaii
, because of his obsession with finding the lost city of Atlantis. Out of money because his grandfather died and Tower was used to being taken care of and supported, and of all things, inspired by a berry tart
he had eaten there, he applied for a job in 1972 at the then-unknown Chez Panisse
in Berkeley, California
. Alice Waters
and her partners hired him for his skills and his brazen confidence at recreating the greatness of past French traditional food. Within a year he became equal partners with Waters and the others and was in full charge of the kitchen, writing the menus, and the promotion of the restaurant.
Tower left Chez Panisse in 1978, after philiosophical and business disagreements with the majority of the Board and with Waters in particular (she and they rejecting his idea to open a Panisse Cafe), and worked at the Ventana Inn at Big Sur
beginning 1978, taught briefly at the California Culinary Academy
, revived the dying Balboa Cafe in San Francisco in 1981, then in 1982 became head chef and co-owner at Berkeley's Santa Fe Bar and Grill (a restaurant that was later a springboard for fellow Chez Panisse alum, Mark Miller, to open the Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico
and a string of Southwestern-themed restaurants throughout the United States).
In 1984, Tower opened his own restaurant, Stars
, in San Francisco, in partnership with the Sante Fe Bar and Grill investors. It was an overnight sensation. Numerous American chefs worked at Stars, among them Mark Franz (of Farallon), Mario Batali
, Loretta Keller (of Bizou / Coco500), Joey Altman
(Bay Cafe / Wild Hare), Michael Shrader (N9NE), Brendan Walsh
(Arizona 206, Elms Inn), and Ron Garrido (Avalon in Eureka), as well as pastry chef
s Tim Grable, Emily Luchetti
, Hollyce Snyder and Jerry Traunfeld
. The restaurant was among the top-grossing restaurants in the United States for close to a decade. Tower opened branches of Stars restaurant in Oakville (Napa Valley), Palo Alto, Manila
, and Singapore
. He owned and opened The famously successful Peak Cafe in Hong Kong
in the 1990s, as well as various related ventures in San Francisco including a more casual cafe
, an upscale bistro
, and a kitchenware shop. As his fame grew he licensed his name out, and began to earn celebrity endorsement contracts, including one for Dewar's
Scotch. After the earthquake of October 1989, and the closing of the Civic Center where it was located for 2 years - and Stars extra 200 customers per day from the govt offices and courts, Ballet, Opera, symphony all relocated - Tower sold the flagship and its group to a Singapore real estate company. . Tower sold the Stars group in June 1998 and moved to Manila to open another Stars (after Singapore), after declaring he was done with California, The new owners closed the Stars restaurants after 2 years of operating them. After a year in Manila he moved to New York City
for 4 years, after which he moved to Italy and Mexico, where he lives as of 2010 and devotes his time to restoring old colonial houses, SCUBA diving, travel writing, writing a novel, and looking for unoxidized champagne.
in 1986 for "Best American Regional Cookbook." He has published several other successful cookbooks. His 2003 memoir, What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution, is a colorful account of his side of the story surrounding the invention of California and New American cuisine
and the rise and fall of his restaurant empire.
In 1996, Tower won the Foundation's Award for "Chef of the Year."
Celebrity chef
A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
who, along with Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Johannes Puck is an Austrian-American celebrity chef, restaurateur, businessman and occasional actor. Wolfgang Puck restaurants, catering services, cookbooks and licensed products are run by Wolfgang Puck Companies, with three divisions...
, Alice Waters
Alice Waters
Alice Louise Waters is an American chef, restaurateur, activist, and author. She is the owner of Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its organic, locally-grown ingredients and for pioneering California cuisine.Waters opened the restaurant in 1971. It has consistently ranked...
, and Jonathan Waxman
Jonathan Waxman
Jonathan Waxman is an American chef who was one of the pioneers of California cuisine and is credited with being the first to bring its style, fusing French cooking techniques with the freshest local ingredients, to New York....
, is generally credited with developing the culinary style known as California cuisine
California Cuisine
California cuisine is a style of cuisine marked by an interest in fusion cuisine and in the use of freshly prepared local ingredients.The food is typically prepared with strong attention to presentation...
.
Biography
Tower was born in Stamford, ConnecticutStamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
, son of a managing director of an international film sound equipment company. A food lover, he had no formal culinary education before beginning his career as a chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
. After earning a Masters Degree in Architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, he had intended to pursue design of underwater structures in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, because of his obsession with finding the lost city of Atlantis. Out of money because his grandfather died and Tower was used to being taken care of and supported, and of all things, inspired by a berry tart
Tart
A tart is a baked dish consisting of a filling over a pastry base with an open top not covered with pastry. The pastry is usually shortcrust pastry; the filling may be sweet or savoury, though modern tarts are usually fruit-based, sometimes with custard....
he had eaten there, he applied for a job in 1972 at the then-unknown Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse
Chez Panisse is a Berkeley, California restaurant known for using local, organic foods and credited as the inspiration for the style of cooking known as California cuisine. Well-known restauranteur, author, and food activist Alice Waters co-founded Chez Panisse in 1971 with film producer Paul...
in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. Alice Waters
Alice Waters
Alice Louise Waters is an American chef, restaurateur, activist, and author. She is the owner of Chez Panisse, a Berkeley, California restaurant famous for its organic, locally-grown ingredients and for pioneering California cuisine.Waters opened the restaurant in 1971. It has consistently ranked...
and her partners hired him for his skills and his brazen confidence at recreating the greatness of past French traditional food. Within a year he became equal partners with Waters and the others and was in full charge of the kitchen, writing the menus, and the promotion of the restaurant.
Tower left Chez Panisse in 1978, after philiosophical and business disagreements with the majority of the Board and with Waters in particular (she and they rejecting his idea to open a Panisse Cafe), and worked at the Ventana Inn at Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
beginning 1978, taught briefly at the California Culinary Academy
California Culinary Academy
The California Culinary Academy is an affiliate of Le Cordon Bleu, and is located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1977, the academy has trained more than 15,000 people for restaurant careers through its 30-week baking and pastry chef program and 16-month culinary arts degree program...
, revived the dying Balboa Cafe in San Francisco in 1981, then in 1982 became head chef and co-owner at Berkeley's Santa Fe Bar and Grill (a restaurant that was later a springboard for fellow Chez Panisse alum, Mark Miller, to open the Coyote Cafe in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
and a string of Southwestern-themed restaurants throughout the United States).
In 1984, Tower opened his own restaurant, Stars
Stars (restaurant)
Stars was a landmark restaurant in San Francisco, California from 1984 through 1999. Along with Spago, Michael's and Chez Panisse it is considered one of the birthplaces of California Cuisine, New American cuisine, and the institution of the celebrity chef....
, in San Francisco, in partnership with the Sante Fe Bar and Grill investors. It was an overnight sensation. Numerous American chefs worked at Stars, among them Mark Franz (of Farallon), Mario Batali
Mario Batali
Mario Batali is an American chef, writer, restaurateur and media personality. In addition to his classical culinary training, he is an expert on the history and culture of Italian cuisine, including regional and local variations. Batali co-owns restaurants in New York City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles,...
, Loretta Keller (of Bizou / Coco500), Joey Altman
Joey Altman
Joey Altman is an American chef, restaurateur, TV host and writer.-Personal History:Altman grew up in the Catskills in New York, where his mother worked at Grossinger's Catskill Resort Hotel...
(Bay Cafe / Wild Hare), Michael Shrader (N9NE), Brendan Walsh
Brendan Walsh
Brendan Walsh is an American chef best known for his endorsement of southwestern cuisine. He was the original chef of Arizona 206 in New York City and won international recognition in the prestigious James Beard “Who’s Who of Cooking in America”.-Early life:Brendan Walsh grew up in the Bronx,...
(Arizona 206, Elms Inn), and Ron Garrido (Avalon in Eureka), as well as pastry chef
Pastry chef
A pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
s Tim Grable, Emily Luchetti
Emily Luchetti
Emily Luchetti is an award winning pastry chef with Farallon restaurant and a featured television chef on the TV series Great Chefs with appearances in Great Chefs - The Women and Great Chefs - Great Cities. She has also worked at Stars_ and with Jeremiah_Tower.- References :...
, Hollyce Snyder and Jerry Traunfeld
Jerry Traunfeld
Jerry Traunfeld is an American chef and author, was the executive chef of The Herbfarm restaurant in Woodinville, Washington. He was the chef at The Herbfarm from July 1990 to November 2007...
. The restaurant was among the top-grossing restaurants in the United States for close to a decade. Tower opened branches of Stars restaurant in Oakville (Napa Valley), Palo Alto, Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. He owned and opened The famously successful Peak Cafe in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in the 1990s, as well as various related ventures in San Francisco including a more casual cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
, an upscale bistro
Bistro
A bistro, sometimes spelled bistrot, is, in its original Parisian incarnation, a small restaurant serving moderately priced simple meals in a modest setting. Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. Home cooking with robust earthy dishes, and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet are typical...
, and a kitchenware shop. As his fame grew he licensed his name out, and began to earn celebrity endorsement contracts, including one for Dewar's
Dewar's
Dewar's is a brand of blended Scotch whisky.-History:The Dewar's whisky brand was created by John Dewar, Sr. in 1846. Under the control of his two sons, John A. Dewar Jr. and Thomas "Tommy" Dewar , the brand expanded to become a global market by 1896...
Scotch. After the earthquake of October 1989, and the closing of the Civic Center where it was located for 2 years - and Stars extra 200 customers per day from the govt offices and courts, Ballet, Opera, symphony all relocated - Tower sold the flagship and its group to a Singapore real estate company. . Tower sold the Stars group in June 1998 and moved to Manila to open another Stars (after Singapore), after declaring he was done with California, The new owners closed the Stars restaurants after 2 years of operating them. After a year in Manila he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
for 4 years, after which he moved to Italy and Mexico, where he lives as of 2010 and devotes his time to restoring old colonial houses, SCUBA diving, travel writing, writing a novel, and looking for unoxidized champagne.
Publications and awards
Tower's first book, New American Classics, won a James Beard Foundation AwardJames Beard Foundation
The James Beard Foundation is a New York-based national professional non-profit organization named in honor of James Beard that serves to promote the culinary arts by honoring chefs, wine professionals, journalists, and cookbook authors at annual award ceremonies and providing scholarships and...
in 1986 for "Best American Regional Cookbook." He has published several other successful cookbooks. His 2003 memoir, What I Saw (and Cooked) at the American Culinary Revolution, is a colorful account of his side of the story surrounding the invention of California and New American cuisine
New American cuisine
New American cuisine is a term for upscale, contemporary cooking served primarily in restaurants in the United States. Combining flavors from America's melting pot with traditional techniques, New American cuisine includes ethnic twists on old standbys, Old World peasant dishes made from luxury...
and the rise and fall of his restaurant empire.
In 1996, Tower won the Foundation's Award for "Chef of the Year."