Kostow will take over the kitchen at Chez TJ, where he was chef from 2006 to 2008, to cook a special multi-course meal to celebrate the release of his first cookbook, "A New Napa Cuisine."
"That place figures very prominently as it was my first chef job, really," Kostow said of Chez TJ, which has long been a culinary incubator of sorts for many rising chef stars. (The list includes Kostow, Joshua Skenes of Saison in San Francisco and Bruno Chemel of Baume in Palo Alto, among others.)
Kostow earned two Michelin stars at Chez TJ before leaving for Meadowood in 2008. He went on to become the third youngest chef ever to win three Michelin stars. In 2009, he was chosen as one of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs and holds an award from the James Beard Foundation for Best Chef: Pacific 2013.
"George (Aviet) has launched many careers," Kostow said of the Chez TJ owner. "For promoting my first book, it only made sense to go down there."
The evening is reservations only, with two seating times – 5:30 and 8 p.m. To check availability or reserve a table, email info@cheztj.com or call 650-964-7466 with you name, party size, phone number and preferred time.
The dinner is $225 per person, which includes a copy of Kostow's book and excludes tax and gratuity. Wine pairings are optional ($150).
Here's the menu, straight from Kostow:
Canapés:
- Black olive meringue/whipped olive oil
- Kale chips/flavors of chorizo
- Raw clam/lardo/sea lettuce
- Fermented potato/caviar
- Mackerel/fall escabeche/pine cream
- Buckwheat cured trout/turnip tops
- Parsnip/browned goats butter/propolis/white truffle
- Aged bavette/black allium/porcini
- "Bread and butter"/honeycomb
- Sorbet of apple lees/gjetost/celery
- Chestnuts/crème fraiche/lychee
For more on Chez TJ and George Aviet, read this Mountain View Voice piece: The star incubator
