The art of good eats

The man who speaks with a thick French accent and who carries a

paintbrush considers himself an artist. He is, after all, judged on

aesthetics and sculpting and airbrushing ability.

But at the end of the day, Stephane Treand’s works of art tend to

disappear.

Treand, 45, is the executive pastry chef at Four Seasons Hotel

Newport Beach. He is best known for creating five-foot show plates

made of mounds of chocolate and cups of food coloring. For extra

pizazz, Treand finishes off his massive desserts by painting a

woman’s face on the base of the piece.

In July, Treand won first place in the Food Network’s Pastry

Daredevils competition, which allowed pastry chefs six hours to

design a show plate using only sugar products. For his innovative

construction of model animals, Treand won $10,000.

An international dessert consultant, Treand spends the majority of

his time working in a chillingly cold kitchen inside the luxury

hotel, preparing specialty dishes for those with a sweet tooth.

Not surprisingly, dessert is Treand’s favorite course. It is a

chance for him to punctuate the meal by adding his own touch.

“I realized, desert comes at the end of the meal, so you can send

people home satisfied,” Treand said.

A HOT SPOT FOR CHEFS

It’s difficult to compete with the resources afforded to Treand:

He is able to order 10 pounds of chocolate per day and has nine

full-time pastry chefs at his service.

This weekend, some of Orange County’s top chefs are showing off

their best menu items at the Taste of Newport. The three-day event,

which ends today, is not just about blowing out the budget.

Tasters browse the food booths looking for innovation and a

variety of dishes -- gourmet and everyday.

Richard Mead, chef and owner of Sage Restaurant in the Eastbluff

neighborhood of Newport Beach, said Newport-Mesa residents have an

appreciation for quality food.

“People here tend to travel, so they recognize exotic foods and

tend to be more willing to try new dishes,” said Mead, who is not

hosting a booth at the festival. “One of the things you notice is

that diners know what they like.”

And chefs like working and living in this area, said Carla Ray,

director of student services at Laguna Culinary Arts, a school that

prepares chefs for future careers.

Ray has 13 students enrolled this year, many of whom are

interested in coming to Newport-Mesa for their first jobs. She said

graduates have found jobs at local restaurants for years.

Ambience is part of what drives them to work in the area. Many

restaurants have ocean views and ample outdoor seating. Mead’s

restaurant has an outdoor patio with a garden he helped develop.

“This place represents a lot of me,” he said.

And it helps to have a neighborhood attachment, Mead said. Because

Sage is located in the heart of Eastbluff’s business center, he said

local residents are loyal customers.

Chefs in Newport Beach generally have the freedom to go all out

with their menu items, Mead said, because diners are willing to pay

top dollar for gourmet meals.

But Mead said starting off in Newport Beach is often not possible

for up-and-coming chefs who also own their businesses.

Some chefs choose to start in Costa Mesa or other surrounding

cities, he said.

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Mead, 50, got his start as a “toast man” -- the person who makes

toast for a restaurant. He worked summers at eateries as a bus boy

and a dishwasher.

The first time he knew he wanted to be a chef was during high

school, when he cooked for a date who appreciated the meal.

“Being a chef is like going back in time,” Mead said. “You are

tasting and preparing food you originally ate as a child.”

After working with friends on a series of restaurant openings in

Los Angeles, he moved to Newport Beach in 1997 to open the first Sage

establishment.

In the beginning, Mead bussed tables and seated customers as well

as prepared the food, because he couldn’t afford to hire a large

staff.

On the restaurant’s opening night, Mead said only two tables were

full. There was one night where financial struggles nearly forced him

to shut down the next day.

“I never thought I’d fail,” Mead said. “The idea is that you just

work harder. But in this business, there’s always a chance something

goes wrong.”

Now, it’s a different story. The Eastbluff location is in full

swing, and Mead has opened another location in Crystal Cove.

For Chris Garnier, executive chef partner at Roy’s of Newport

Beach, company loyalty was the key. He began 14 years ago as a bus

boy at the original Roy’s in his home state of Hawaii.

The owner, Roy Yamaguchi, allowed Garnier to take the reigns of

the Newport Beach location about seven years ago.

“It’s like being a rock star,” Garnier said of his position. “I’ve

always wanted to be center stage. It’s a good way to express

yourself.”

PUTTING TOGETHER

THE INGREDIENTS

Looking at Treand, one would think he has worked with chocolate

all his life. He dices strips of hardened chocolate like they are

onions. He cuts some into the shape of pedals and sticks them onto a

solid base using a contraption that works like glue by spewing cold

air.

Treand said he is asked to create two new dessert dishes every

week. Before beginning on any item, he first draws a blueprint of

what the piece will look like when finished.

His assistant, Frania Mendivil, watches carefully as Treand

creates his works. She was the one who connected Treand with Four

Seasons.

“You don’t just want to watch,” she said. “You want to touch and

feel and experience it.”

Mendivil’s family owns a pastry shop in Mexico, and she said her

goal is to open one in Orange County.

Treand has taken Mendivil under his wing, and asks for her help on

many of his desert items. The Paris-born chef has gotten many of his

dessert ideas while traveling the world for pastry conferences.

“The pastry world is very small,” Treand said. “You are always

running into the same people.”

Mead said the same is true of the local chef community. Many

attend the same charities and fundraisers, and compare notes when

they see each other at farmer’s markets.

Mead said there is one main difference between artists and chefs.

“If you are an artist, you can have do-overs,” he said. “Here,

it’s a one-shot deal. You are sending all this food out and getting

reactions. That’s the name of the game.”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

o7elia.powers@latimes.comf7.