Jason Tuley, Contrada
Saturday, September 2, 2017, 10:30 am - 11:15 am
Stop by the CUESA Classroom for a cooking demo featuring the seasonal bounty of the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
Jason Tuley’s childhood in Santa Barbara, Calif. was greatly influenced by his time spent in his grandma Luella’s restaurant. Even though he was very young, he was a staple in the kitchen and loved learning to make baked goods and southern-inspired comfort food with his grandma, so it should come as no surprise that after attending the culinary program at Cabrio College in Santa Cruz, he enrolled at the CIA Greystone in 1996 to further his education and take more classes in the culinary arts. After returning to his roots down south, he began to make his mark at restaurants up and down the California coast. In 2005, Tuley opened his first restaurant, Square One, in Santa Barbara. He eventually sold the restaurant to his partner in 2010, and opened Anchor Woodfire Kitchen in 2012 to bring his commitment to locally-sourced rustic Italian cookery to the community in which he grew up. Here he was able to utilize all of his knowledge of Italian butchery and charcuterie, and also perfect his wood-fired pizzas, homemade pastas, and rustic sauces. Over the years, Tuley has made a point to regularly travel to Italy, specifically Tuscany, where he has spent many months working alongside various chefs and butchers learning to make salami, pasta and pizza.
After the tough decision to sell Anchor in 2014, Tuley moved back up to the Bay Area. Most recently, Tuley spent a year at Picco Restaurant and Pizzeria in Larkspur, further perfecting his wood-fired pizzas and pasta-making. At Contrada, Tuley is very excited to get to focus on his favorite region of Italy, sourcing local Bay Area ingredients and crafting a creative menu that features rustic Tuscan sensibilities.
All demos take place in the CUESA Classroom (under the white tents in front of the Ferry Building) and are free to the public, with recipes and samples for all.
Image courtesy of Mike Norquist.