Words by Andrea Gemmet
For a chef who’s earned multiple Michelin stars, Joseph Humphrey’s first foray into a professional kitchen wasn’t particularly auspicious. His mom and dad worried that their “skate punk” son lacked direction, so Joseph’s dad found the 15-year-old a job at a Whataburger restaurant in their hometown of Tallahassee, Florida. “It was kind of life-changing,” recalls the new executive chef at Oak + Violet in Menlo Park of his time at the burger chain. “These were some of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. Everybody hung out together. It was a family.”
In those early days, the kitchen camaraderie appealed more to Joseph than the fast-food cuisine. But as the years passed, he cobbled together a stellar culinary education, working his way into increasingly prestigious restaurants, studying cookbooks and experimenting with recipes from back issues of Gourmet magazine. By the time Joseph made his way from the Sunshine State to the Golden State (with a stop in New Orleans), he’d graduated from burger-flipper to oyster-shucker and salad-maker at San Francisco’s acclaimed One Market restaurant. “It wasn’t until I came out here, at One Market, that it became about the food,” he says. “Everything before that was the environment, the people and the sense of hospitality.”
In the Bay Area, Joseph’s culinary imagination and his career both blossomed, thanks to some key connections. “I got very fortunate. I had some great mentors,” he says modestly, citing prominent chefs George Marrone and Michael Mina among other local luminaries. He was George’s chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s Fifth Floor, a fine-dining powerhouse when it opened in 1999, then went to work for Michael when he was in the early stages of building his eatery empire. Joseph earned his first two Michelin stars after reopening The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, and followed up in 2018 with a star for Murray Circle at the Lodge at Cavallo Point in Sausalito.
Running the newly opened resort’s large-scale dining program, from restaurants and room service to banquets for up to 800, “was a big shift for me,” he confides. So large-scale that Joseph could buy a whole cow from Skywalker Ranch (that’s right, George Lucas raised wagyu cattle on his property) and use up every ounce of it at Cavallo Point.
While farm-to-table is a buzzword today, it’s an ethos Joseph embraced from the outset, crafting dishes from locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. It felt good, he says, knowing that the quantity of produce used at Cavallo Point could have a positive impact on a nearby farm. “We knew where our stuff came from,” Joseph says with pride, adding that he was the first to list the fish and the fishing vessel that caught it on his menus.
He took the helm of Oak + Violet at the Park James Hotel earlier this year, and its menu bears the distinct marks of Joseph’s kitchen creativity and passion for local produce. His San Francisco albacore tuna features fresh-off-the-boat fish delicately poached in red wine and settled atop an earthy bed of mole rojo sauce scattered with roasted summer squash. It’s accompanied by a “polenta” made of sweet fresh corn. The tuna’s cooking method was inspired by a standout dish Joseph enjoyed in Paris 30 years ago. The brick-red mole sauce was developed in consultation with the Oaxaca-born husband of one of his Oak + Violet cooks. The result is an unexpectedly perfect pairing of Old World techniques and New World know-how that reflects the Bay’s culinary melting pot. Just don’t expect to find it on the menu when its ingredients are out of season.
“I get asked, ‘What’s your signature dish?’ I don’t have any of those,” Joseph says. “But I have a style: product first. Then all of my influences—places I’ve been, things I’ve eaten and chefs I’ve worked with—all those things kind of come together.” That means Oak + Violet’s menu is constantly changing, sometimes from day to day. In September, halibut was served with meltingly soft baby leeks and a tart, crispy fennel salad as a counterpoint to the fish’s fragrant saffron and toasted garlic sauce. This dish is a best-seller, but if the weather is bad and the fishing boats don’t go out, you’ll find something else fresh and local taking the halibut’s place. “What we have today, we might not have tomorrow,” Joseph says. He acknowledges that it can make life a little harder for Oak + Violet’s staff. “I’m still keeping ’em on their toes because things change so much and so frequently.”
Joseph’s vision for Oak + Violet extends to its beverage program, with cocktails informed by the highly seasonal menu and a wine list curated by James Beard Award winner Shelley Lindgren. The elegantly understated restaurant’s large windows offer a view of the enclosed patio and bar, which frequently features live music.
After spending the past several years traveling the country as a consulting chef, helping other restaurateurs find the secret sauce for success, Joseph seems to be making himself right at home in Menlo Park.
savor the season – parkjames.com/dine
Oak + Violet’s Gravenstein Apple Salad Heirloom apples, endive and tarragon are coated with a creamy Dijon mustard dressing and topped with cheddar crisps in Chef Joseph Humphrey’s tasty fall salad. Serves 6. Dressing 1 medium shallot, peeled and sliced thinly ¼ cup white wine 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons strong Dijon mustard ¼ cup plain yogurt ¼ cup buttermilk In a saucepan, cook shallot, wine and vinegar over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Add mustard, yogurt and buttermilk to the shallot mixture and puree in a blender until smooth. Season with salt to taste, then refrigerate in a covered container. Cheddar Crisp 4 ounces English-style cheddar, shredded with a medium-sized grater Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with nonstick paper and spread grated cheese in a thin, even layer. Bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes and then let cool to room temperature. When cool, use a spatula to break into six pieces. SALAD 4 small Gravenstein or organic heirloom apples, peeled and cored 4 heads Belgian endive, cleaned, dried and roots removed ¼ cup fresh tarragon leaves Cut apples into bite-sized pieces and place in a mixing bowl, then add the endive leaves. Add creamy Dijon dressing and mix well to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then add the tarragon leaves, mixing just once to incorporate them. Divide the salad between six chilled salad bowls. Place one piece of cheddar crisp on top of each salad and serve.