Food, wine used to draw in donations at gala dinner Friday
Mike Howard, the owner of the Inn at Tres Pinos, has the recipe
for a new culinary foundation.
Take two parts high school students, add a pinch of expertise
and toss vigorously with funds generated through a gala dinner.
Food, wine used to draw in donations at gala dinner Friday
Mike Howard, the owner of the Inn at Tres Pinos, has the recipe for a new culinary foundation.
Take two parts high school students, add a pinch of expertise and toss vigorously with funds generated through a gala dinner.
Howard knew the Winegrowers Association was having their fifth annual San Benito County Passport Weekend and thought people would be interested in meeting with the growers, having dinner with them and listening to how they do what they do as part of a fund-raiser for the foundation.
For his part, Howard came up with the idea for an eight-course food and wine pairing that would feature a number of his favorite specials from over the years paired with the wines that would be featured that weekend.
Howard has been employing teenagers at the Inn at Tres Pinos, for as long as the restaurant has been operating. A large portion of his workforce comes from the high school.
As a business owner, a lot of his success hangs on the students who are the backbone of the restaurant’s day-to-day operations.
Now Howard is interested in helping those same students in a different capacity – not as an employer, but as an educator. He is creating a foundation that will expose them to the industry by educating them and fostering an interest in the fields of travel and tourism hospitality management, food and beverage business management and, to some degree, the wine industry.
“I’ve been here at the restaurant for 16 years and I wanted to give something back,” Howard said. “High school students are kind of the backbone for my industry and I felt like I wanted to give them something more than just a paycheck. I want to prepare them for life.”
During Howard’s 16 years in the business, he estimated that he’s employed more than 700 people, the majority of whom have been or are currently at San Benito High School. Several of his former employees have gone on to pursue successful careers in the hospitality and culinary industries as well as the travel, tourism and wine industries.
These students were at one time bussers, waiters and cooks at the Inn at Tres Pinos and are now leaders in their respective industries, Howard said.
Part of the reason that Howard was motivated to do something is because he noticed that a lot of the kids that are coming in looking for work are actually unprepared.
“I see a lot of kids come in to the restaurant and ask for job applications that are totally unprepared to work,” Howard said. “They’re dressed in ripped jeans or shorts with untucked shirts. It’s not professional. They need to know how to present themselves. I’ve had hundreds of employees over the years and I tell them all the same thing. No matter what you do, service is the key to everything.”
Howard envisions that the foundation could offer things such as senior internships, scholarships, interactive field trips and special guest lectures by community leaders from their respective industries.
Mitch Bakich, Hospitality Manager for Donati Vineyards in Paso Robles, started his career at the Inn, first as a busboy and later as the restaurant’s manager.
“I think a program like this is great because the youth need to learn how to serve,” Bakich said. “This could be an alternative for the kids who aren’t necessarily interested in home economics, but are interested in the restaurant business. It’s another outlet. I didn’t know back then that this was what I wanted to do, but then I ended up here anyhow.”
Howard has not proposed anything to the high school yet because he wanted to wait until he had the capital to propose the idea, but he has been working with a few individuals at the high school to ensure that his intentions will be received well.
The dinner fund-raiser is the first big event for the foundation, but Howard is hoping to generate several thousand dollars for the organization.
The menu will feature influences ranging from Asian to Spanish to Italian and feature a lot of local items from the region.
“It’s kind of like a greatest hits album for food,” Howard said. “Plus it will feature a lot of local products.”
The main course features a Masami Ranch American Kobe beef filet with an Ozeki sake infused demi glaze with morel mushroom garnish. Ozeki Sake is produced in Hollister. Other local products include hand picked Christopher Ranch baby garlic, Northern California cheeses and San Benito County apricots. For the complete menu see inset.
“With the menu, I wanted it to be simple and include things that the Inn does really well,” Howard said.
The event kicks off the Winegrower’s Association fifth annual Passport Weekend April 19 and 20. Passport weekend will feature all the wineries in San Benito County including: Blossom Hill Winery, Calera Wine Company, DeRose Vineyard, Donati Family Vineyard, Enz winery, Flint Wine Cellars, Pietra Santa Winery and Summerayne Vineyards. Each winery will offer samples of their wine as well as samplings of food.
The Winegrowers Association has been very supportive of Howard and his project.
“I think this is way cool,” said Theresa Martin, owner of Night Out Limousine and the marketing person for the winegrowers association and the passport weekend. “This is the fifth anniversary of the passport weekend and Mike has come up with an exciting event that will benefit the entire community. It takes the [whole passport weekend] event and kicks it up a notch. Plus anything that benefits the high school is great.”
Kelly Alvernez, assistant marketing manager for Pietra Santa winery was also very supportive of the idea of a benefit dinner.
“It will be a wonderful way to kick off the weekend and the [program] should be something new and different that showcases the uniqueness of San Benito County and features the Cienega Valley prominently.”
The benefit dinner is scheduled for Friday, April 18. Tickets for the passport weekend are $30 each, but for anyone interested in also attending the gala dinner, that night a gold passport can be purchased for $150 which includes an upgraded ticket to the passport weekend allowing attendance to the exclusive private dinner with the owners of the wineries and winemakers of San Benito County at the Inn at Tres Pinos.
Tickets for the passport weekend are available from any of the participating wineries, the Running Rooster, the Broken Wing, Night Out Limousine and from the Inn at Tres Pinos. Gold passports can be purchased from the Inn at Tres Pinos, but quantities are limited.
MENU
The appetizer course is a Brazilian Granite Carpaccio, featuring black pepper dusted Ahi tuna with toasted garlic crostini paired with wine from Pietra Santa.
The main course, Tournedos con Morel, featuring a Masami Ranch American Kobe beef filet with Ozeki sake infused demi glaze with Morel mushroom garnish. This course will feature wine from Beaulieu Vineyard.
The salad course will feature a heart of romaine with hand picked “Christopher Ranch” baby garlic and alesios Gold Olivio. This course will be paired with wines from Enz and Summerayne.
The cheese course will feature domestic cheeses of northern California paired with wine from Calera Vineyards.
The cheese course will be followed by a Redwood Apricot Intermezzo featuring “Brigantino” Ranch Blenheim and paired with wine from Flint Wine Cellars.
The desert is a “Royale Montaine” Brulee paired with a wine from Donati Family Vineyard.
Port service will be from the DeRose Vineyard.
The coffee service features seven of the finest coffees in the world.
