Roseville, Granite Bay & Rocklin Style Magazine 1118

10 TOP CHEFS
Mark Berkner
Taste Restaurant,
9402 Main Street,
Plymouth, 209-245-3463,
restauranttaste.com
Mark Berkner serves as the
department chair for the
San Joaquin Delta College
of Culinary Arts, a tasty full
circle from when he was a
student studying culinary arts
at Contra Costa College. The
chef and educator believes
that all chefs are artists, and
after a bite of his foie gras
or seared scallops, we’re
inclined to agree.
Food philosophy: Food
should be prepared and
consumed at its most optimal
freshness and ripeness while
showcasing the natural
flavors of the ingredients. It
shouldn’t be intimidating,
but it should be a nourishing
experience that makes your
taste buds happy.
If I wasn’t a chef, I’d be: Test
driving dirt bikes.
Guilty pleasure food:
Reuben sandwiches.
Favorite ingredient to work
with: Wild mushrooms that
I’ve foraged.
For dinner last night, I ate:
Liverwurst on crackers at 10
p.m.
Favorite food pairing: Toast
paired with anything!
Favorite restaurant and
dish: The Waterboy, and
anything on the menu.
You’d never know it, but:
I’m a professor.
Jarunee Fleming
Thai Paradise, 2770 East
Bidwell Street, Suite 100,
Folsom, 916-984-8988,
thaiparadisefolsom.com
If you look far enough down
Jarunee Fleming’s résumé,
you’ll find the time she
honed her cooking skills in
Bangkok, Thailand, which
explains why her Thai curries
are so popular—and one of
her favorite things to cook.
Her focus today? Bringing the
authentic flavors of Thailand
to Folsom. Yes, please.
First memory of food: Being
six years old and eating rice.
Food philosophy: I just love
making people happy and
healthy.
If I wasn’t a chef, I’d
be: Growing flowers and
vegetables.
Top cooking tip: Taste what
you cook before you serve it!
The best thing I ever ate:
Cioppino at Sotto Mare in San
Francisco.
One food I’ll never get
behind: Beef.
Guilty pleasure food: Ice
cream.
Favorite ingredient to work
with: Chiles.
For dinner last night, I ate:
Veggie soup!
Favorite food pairing:
Shrimp and greens.
Favorite restaurant and
dish: Cioppino at Sea Chest
in Cambria.
You’d never know it, but:
I’m a great singer.
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Christine Ondrus-Lykos
Farmer’s Delicatessen and
Bakery, 3952 Cambridge
Road, Cameron Park, 530-
672-6800, farmersdeli.net
Christine Ondrus-Lykos thought
she might attend the Culinary
Institute of America some 20
years ago, but instead, the selftaught
chef blazed a trail all on
her own by traveling through
Europe and gaining an immense
appreciation of what other
countries and cultures bring to
the American palate—and plate.
Now the native New Yorker is
doing the same at her beloved
bakery and deli in Cameron
Park.
First memory of food: I visited
Hungary and Romania when I
was four. I remember playing
with pigs and chickens on a
remote farm, and I vividly recall
seeing a whole animal being
cooked on top of a spit in an
open field.
Food philosophy: Keep
it simple, take your time,
and mind your energy in
the kitchen—energy is an
ingredient!
If I wasn’t a chef, I’d be: A rally
sports car driver.
The best thing I ever ate:
Crème caramel in Barcelona.
One food I’ll never get behind:
Escargot.
Guilty pleasure food: Pizza.
Favorite ingredient to work
with: Garlic—yum!
For dinner last night, I ate:
Chicken salad with avocado.
Favorite food pairing: Clarified
butter and garlic.
Favorite restaurant and dish:
The Cashew Chicken at Thai
House.
You’d never know it, but:
When I was younger, I wanted to
be a dancer.
Kara Taylor
The Farm Table, 311 Main
Street, Placerville, 530-295-
8140, ourfarmtable.com
Kara Taylor started working
in coffee and donut shops
when she was 13, followed by
a pie-making stint at an apple
orchard. By 15, she was cooking
on the line at a fine dining
Italian restaurant. Today? You
can find her slinging some of
the best duck confit in Northern
California, among other things.
First memory of food: Eating
lobster at a birthday party when
I was four. Growing up in coastal
New England, it was a family
tradition to eat lobster on our
birthdays.
Food philosophy: Less is more.
If I wasn’t a chef, I’d be: Doing
community development work
in the nonprofit or public sector.
Top cooking tip: Don’t rush it.
Dishes cooked “low and slow”
like confits and braises are my
specialty.
The best thing I ever ate:
Lobster in butter, lobster bisque,
lobster roll—I really love lobster.
One food I’ll never get behind:
I can’t think of anything I’ll never
like!
Guilty pleasure food: Fried
chicken, but I don’t really feel
guilty about it.
Favorite ingredient to work
with: Pork.
For dinner last night, I ate: A
sausage sandwich with grilled
peppers and onions.
Favorite food pairing: During
fall, butternut squash and
chipotle chili.
Favorite restaurant and dish:
Chile Relleno and Blood Sausage
Tacos from Santa Maria Taqueria.
You’d never know it, but: I
spent a year working as a tool
librarian, lending out tools and
fixing small engines on lawn
mowers.