The Paupered Chef: Everyone’s starving, but nobody is feeding. We’re trying.

Our first stop was the Osteria Mozza table. Nancy Silverton was just standing around, so we chatted up the ingredients, talked some shop and only then asked if we could have a sample. Nancy wasn’t having any of it, telling us to come back when things were ready. She was proud of her shoes, though, which we were able to get a sneak peak of.

At Chez Panisse they were cutting candied flowers, made by coating flowers in egg white and sugar and left to dry. They were beautiful, but hardly substantial enough to warrant some kind of haggle.

Mustards Grill had a beautiful bowl of micro arugula ready to go on their duck sliders. There grill was hot, but still unused.

Our last stop as at la Casita Mexicana. Jaime Martin Del Campo was stuffing mole into little corn cups. “It is my Grandmother’s recipe, it has 43 ingredients!” They looked beautiful.