Tune into this tantalizingly titled talk by one of Berkeley’s true Renaissance men:
Tales of the Gourmet Ghetto: My 50-Year Obsession with Over-Roasted Coffee, Goaty Cheese, Baby Vegetables, Stinky Garlic, Fatty Pastrami, and More
Illustrated with his own cartoons, John’s Zoom presentation will cover the history of Berkeley’s famous food scene and his latest book, Café French: A Flâneur’s Guide To The Language, Lore & Food Of The Paris Café. He also will discuss renaming the Gourmet Ghetto, the relationship between food and architecture, and the outdoor dining areas that have sprung up during the pandemic.
John has been enjoying — and enriching — our local food and cultural scene since his days as UC-Berkeley art student in the late ‘60s. He worked part time at the Cheese Board, waited tables the week Chez Panisse opened, and cooked at the Swallow Café in the original Berkeley Art Museum.
Since then, John has made two documentary films; performed as a classical guitarist; published cookbooks at Aris Books, which published food-related books; and amassed a museum-quality collection of guitars which he curates at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He contributed regularly to the online food journal Zester Daily and is the author of The Book of Garlic, The Official Garlic Lovers Handbook, and Foodoodles: From the Museum of Culinary History.