Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/599676
accustomed to working year-round with fresh vegetables, herbs, and seasonal ingredients like huckleberries, morel mushrooms, and hazelnuts. John's journey also started at an early age while working with his family's catering company in Upstate New York. Upon arriving in Seattle, he worked at artisan Italian restaurant Café Lago and at Etta's, a respected seafood restaurant in Pike Place Market. "We called him the crab cake guy because he was a perfectionist and his plates stood out from the other chefs on the line," says Duskie, who worked with John at Etta's from 1995 to 1996. "It was kind of funny because he didn't even eat crab cakes." After the two started dating, John's big break came when he helped star chef Mario Batali at the Aspen Food & Wine Classic in 1997. "It was a moment when he was drunk enough to give me his cell phone number, yet sober enough that he remem- bered it," says John, with a grin. "So I bugged him for nine months. And eventually he said, 'Sure, come on out and help me.'" Knife and Pork Under Batali's guidance, John spent the next few months mastering the craft of breaking down animals and curing meats. With the exception of Batali's dad's sandwich shop Salumi and a few old Italian-owned meat shops, there were very few butchers in the Seattle area at the time, particularly at restaurants. With this in mind, John took advantage of the opportu- nity to develop special carving skills. "Back then all you could find online was books for hunters focused on how to break down a deer. Nobody was really serious about being a butcher who could use all the parts, so breaking that code was the key." After getting married in 2000, Duskie and John fused their talents and moved south to California's Sonoma County to start the original ZaZu restaurant in 2001. Located in the rural area between Santa Rosa and Known for being hardy and mild-tempered, this special breed of Red Wattle pigs have been raised by chefs Duskie Estes and John Stewart since they established their farm in 2006. From salumi, bacon, burgers, and gourmet hot dogs to ice cream, specialty pies, and Rodeo Jax popcorn with Black Pig bacon, the menu at ZaZu Kitchen + Farm in Sebastopol allows guests to taste free- range animals in many different forms. f a l l / w i n t e r 2 0 1 5 | 9 1