Continuous Learning

The Winter Fashion Issue '21

Written By: CARY WONG

Continuous Learning

THE VICTORIES AND STRUGGLESOF CHEF DANIEL PATTERSON

Chef Daniel Patterson’s Coi has been both a diner’s favorite and a great training ground for aspiring chefs. Throughout the years, both the restaurant and its driving force have won countless awards respectively—including Food & Wine Magazine’s 1997 Best New Chef, San Francisco Magazine’s 2007 Chef of the Year, James Beard Foundation’s 2009/2010 Best Chef: Pacific (nominee), two Michelin stars, and more.

He took a curious path to his current success as a self-taught chef. Growing up in Massachusetts, he started working in restaurants when he was 14 and “just forgot to get a real job.” For him, cooking is always an act of generosity, a way to connect and communicate with other people. It is also a non-verbal way to share emotional energies between the guests and chefs.

Ever since he stepped foot in a kitchen, Chef Patterson has been on a journey to find out how to make people happy!

“That’s at the core of everything that I’ve done. How do you bring joy to other people? How do you create a moment that they’ll remember forever?” he says.

Even though creativity plays such a big role in Chef Patterson’s food, he thinks that chefs should not necessarily think of themselves as artists. To him, cooking is more of a craft than an artform. In his mind, any craft can be done artistically. Cooking can be dull with lots of the same things done over and over—boring, grinding work.

Spiritually speaking, a cook is someone who makes food for others. Hard work and a commitment to doing things the right way is the basis is for everything. Craft and artistry are built upon repetition and practice with a humble mentality.

“A base note might be braised short ribs. And a mid-note might be some sauteed spinach, broccoli, or some kind of vegetable. And your top note might be some lime zest, some chili, a little bit of cilantro. Each one of those things on its own is simple but all of them together are complex,” he says.

Through its existence, his restaurant is known as a proving ground for great chefs. Evan and Sarah Rich of Rich Table, James Syhabout of Commis, Katy Millard of Coquine, Matt Tinder of Saboteur Bakery, Carlos Salgado of Taco Maria… the alumni list goes on and on. He thinks that having high standards and cooking innovative food are reasons why.

Most importantly, however, is that “there was an energy in the restaurant… that came from the group of people that were there,” he says. “We always thought about why we would do things. It was a very collaborative workspace.”

Chef Patterson helped a lot of people by really pushing them so that they would have the confidence and an understanding of how to make a place successful. In addition, people left his kitchen feeling like they could achieve what they dreamed of.

“The great thing about food is that no matter how long you do it… [it] is like a drop in the ocean. So, it’s constant learning. And it’s very, very complex,” he says. “ And that’s really exciting… because I don’t think there’s anything better than cooking.”

In general, he thinks that there is a lot of creativity in the food and beverage industry right now. To him, a lot of people desire some kind of connection and they crave a sense of well-being.

The public is also interested in authenticity—not from a cultural perspective—but the authenticity of the humans who are making the food, whatever their expression is. He sees a lot of chefs that are communicating themselves in a way that is honest to them.

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