Marin celebrity chef Tyler Florence, left, and Sacramento chef Dennis Sydnor, of Renegade Dining, cook at the Farm-to-Fork Festival in 2023 at Capitol Mall in Sacramento. As we step over the threshold into the official summer season, cooking outdoors becomes as much about seasonal ceremony and social ritual as it does a utilitarian means of putting a meal on the table.
“ demystifies the process for first-time grillers, and his recipes open up new avenues for more experienced cooks,” writes chef and Berkeley’s Chez Panisse restaurant founder Alice Waters in the foreword. Several selections show creative breadth with dishes that aren’t typically associated with grilling — the chopped salad pizza, truffle macaroni and cheese, ricotta and honey cheesecake and skillet chocolate chunk cookie, to name a few.
For dessert, and well timed with the bounty of vibrant summer fruits, grilled brie with peaches and hot honey, berry mixed cobbler and strawberry upside-down cake are the call. Most recently, he’s achieved acclaim with Miller & Lux steakhouse at San Francisco’s Chase Center, an island vibe outpost at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai in Hawaii and Miller & Lux Provisions Patisserie and Rotisserie cafés in San Francisco’s Union Square.