Toasting Jacques Pépin’s 90th Birthday in Carpinteria

Santa Barbara County’s agricultural and epicurean bounties were on full display this week at Rincon Hill Farm in Carpinteria, where legendary chef Jacques Pépin was toasted at one of the 90 dinners being held across the world to celebrate his 90th birthday. 

Pépin did not himself attend the “90 for 90” dinner on Monday, November 10, which was co-hosted by the Santa Barbara Culinary Experience (SBCE) and benefited The Jacques Pépin Foundation. But the beloved Frenchman, who gained fame as one of the first celebrity chefs on television, did greet the 40 people in attendance with a video that’s being shown at similar gatherings. Prior to that, guests were treated to a tour of the regenerative farm, where the mushroom growing operation was a definite highlight.

Once everyone gathered for the video and opening remarks from Eric Spivey, who is the chair of the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts and cofounded the SBCE, the wine and food started flowing. Canapes included oysters with a white kimchi mignonette and beef tartare atop a fried potato disc, with sparkling heirloom apple and prickly pear cider from Dreamcôte and the 2023 brut rose from Rancho La Vina by Loubud Wines.

Chef Daniel Kim focused the menu on a number of French classics, in honor of Pépin, but with plenty of Korean influence, as that’s his own heritage and style of cooking. The melding — those slightly spicy and sour fermented elements of Korean cutting into the inherent richness of French cuisine — worked magically. 

The next course featured milk bread with yeasty butter, vegetables with a fermented soybean dip, and a rockfish crudo with fermented daikon and avocado. Two very different sauvignon blancs were served alongside: Dragonette’s 2021 Vogelzang Vineyard and Brander’s 2023 Au Naturel. Explaining each wine for the evening was yours truly, as I am on SBCE’s advisory committee. 

The mushroom excitement became edible in the next round, as the farm’s maitake and lion’s man mushrooms were grilled on sticks and served with a perilla pistou. One of the night’s showstopping dishes was the halibut topped with a thin layer of toast and served in a kimchi-mussel bouillabaisse. Samuel Louis Smith’s 2023 Spear Vineyard chardonnay and Âmevive’s 2024 Santa Barbara County gamay made excellent partners to these dishes.

We all knew what was coming next, since we’d seen ducks roasting over the open fire during our introductory toasts. Kim’s explanation of how he prepared both the duck breast and the torchon of duck leg was fascinatingly complex, and it worked. The succulent yet crispy breast with preserved plums and duck jus was one of the better duck bites I’ve ever experienced, and the pate-like torchon was silky and savory at once. Pinot noir was the correct choice here, specifically the Barden 2023 from Our Lady of Guadalupe Vineyard, provided by SBCE advisor Doug Margerum. 

For dessert, Bryan Babcock provided his Once in a Lifetime late harvest viognier from the 2018 vintage. Its golden-hued, honey-scented, ambrosial nature matched well with the persimmon crème brûlée and seasoned watermelon slices.

The evening was the first large party hosted by Rincon Hill Farm, which has been transformed from a simple avocado orchard into a dynamic showcase of sustainable agriculture, as well as a well-equipped space for private events. It’s owned by Silicon Valley dynamos Mark Armenante and Young Sohn, who also own The Palms building in downtown Carpinteria.

Chef Kim and general manager Ryan Sohn — who met while cooking together at Meadowwood in Napa Valley — are overseeing that project as well, with current plans to open two eateries on site. If Monday’s affair was any indication, we should expect seriously amazing things to come.