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Step back. Gain a little distance. Out of the footlights, delegating. Discreetly handing over. As 2016 dawns, without a public fuss, Daniel Patterson tiptoes off stage. For several months, the San Francisco chef has been preparing to say farewell to Coi, his restaurant which opened in 2006, between two strip joints on Broadway. For a decade, a tranquil, yet disconcerting haven, an introspective workshop, above mere fashion, ahead of its time. Peer recognition, the blossoming of a delicate, fragile cuisine, balanced on the razor-sharp edge of impossible perfection – all this is now behind him. There’s a before David Patterson, and an after : the aftermath of an utterly exceptional chef on the Californian (and American) culinary scene. A unique approach, a focused attention on the vegetal, an intense concentration, precise and evanescent – as he would say, deliciousness.

When we first met him, in May 2006, Dan was dressed almost as today: jeans and a grey shirt, black Doc Marten-type boots, a feverish gaze, an interior monologue in slow flow – David Byrne liberated from the demons of “Fear of Music”. Gentleness, tension (and sometimes release), long cooking, imperceptibly prolonging the raw, sweeping out in search over the lands and produce of Northern California, a fully-fledged locavore. Never at rest.

That early December evening at Coi, there were hints of a higher wisdom, a pride in his foundational truths. Oysters in aspic with ngo gai, carrots a white-red-yellow rainbow in a juice with mandarins, mint leaves, and coffee beans for an stunning, shady effect. Or the Dungeness Crab, a Pacific sleeper entirely wakeful in its broth, where beef tendons play a textural mimesis against the acid of citron caviar. The same striking prolongation of timbres and nuances continues: salsify with buttermilk, black truffles and dark vinaigrette. Mizuna and potatoes, pureed with wood sorrel, raw finely sliced mushrooms and melting pig’s trotters. Slices of abalone, dusted with hazel and walnuts, breadcrumbs and spices…

In the midst of this primeval display, Dan let us glimpse, between two marvels, the new direction Coi would be taking, in the hands of Matt Kirkley, one-way ticket from Chicago to SF, taking over the kitchen. “Matt has a French training, a technical mastery way beyond mine, and a real tasting ethic. And one day, soon, I’m sure, he’ll also have his third star” Patterson ventures, admiring cubes of chicken breast covered with slices of truffles, earthy white radish on the side, a sneak preview of the new menu in place since early January. A dish of rupture yet continuity, of silken classicism. “Matt’s cuisine, taking off from the same respect for ingredients, should be totally different from mine. That gives a clean, clear break. After announcing my departure, I’m not staying in the wings watching over what Matt’s doing. He’ll be creating in complete freedom”.

If Patterson is quitting center stage, it’s not to leave the arena entirely. But to begin with, with his partner Roy Choi, there’s the San Francisco-Los Angeles leap. Starting in California, then spreading across the US, “Loco’l” is their joint project: quality restaurants, creative fast food to combat the stranglehold of industrial agribusiness on local communities. “Loco’l”: loco (“crazy” in Spanish) but above all, “local”. The utopia of a district fighting back, islands of resistance at the service of the ‘hood. Burgers for the 21st century, minced beef with soya, quinoa, barley and garum. A chain of restaurants determinedly sustainable, eco-friendly. More than a project, a new existential undertaking. GELINAZ! will be accompanying Daniel Patterson on this adventure, today as yesterday, and even more so tomorrow, with each step he takes.

Andrea Petrini/GELINAZ !

www.coirestaurant.com

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