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Piperade, an institution for Basque food lovers in the Bay Area, organized, this past Monday, the first Basque Hotel Dinner of the season. 30 people, most of them from the fog city, gathered to enjoy with good food and good wine, since Rioja winemaker Rafael Vivanco, co-owner of Dinastía Vivanco winery, was invited too. “We had an interesting mix of people and everybody enjoyed,” said Hirigoyen to EuskalKultura.com.

San Francisco, CA. It was not the first time that Piperade hosted a special event, since Hirigoyen and his wife, Cameron, opened the restaurant in 2002. But this Basque Hotel Dinner Series has a special meaning for him: “We used to have Basque Hotels (boarding houses) in California, where good food was being served for not much money, and that was like a home for Basque immigrants. There are still some in the US, but most of them are gone now. So, for me, this is a way to honor those places.” But Hirigoyen’s goal is not just to bring old memories back, but to take the baton of those Boarding Houses and keep the Basque flame alive: “It is also a way to give exposure to our culture, in a fun and enjoyable way.”

The chef explained that the food served “was not, necessarily, traditional Basque, it was something more modern.” In fact attendees had a five course menu including a Seared Sea Scallops, Parsnip Puree, Black Truffles, and Shaved Apple Salad, and a Roasted Rack of Lamb, with Baked Garbanzos, Txorizo, Pistachio, and Basil Aioli, to name a couple of dishes (the full menu can be read in the picture below).

All the dishes were accompanied by different wines, from whites to rosés, and from tempranillos to crianzas, and a previous explanation given by Mr. Vivanco. “He was very pleasant and people really enjoyed the explanations,” stated the chef and wine aficionado. And he added: “The wine was very good, and that is very important. There is not a great meal without a great wine. And people many times get confused, good wine is not necessarily expensive.”

More dinners to come

Hirigoyen announced that he will be hosting a similar dinner once a month, all through the year, “but in different ways.” “Some people like more casual plans, so we might also organize a pintxo night, also with good wines.”

He and his team are now working on the next event that will be advertised in their website, at the restaurant, in the local press, and by a mailing list they are working on at the moment. “We’re building this slowly but surely,” he quipped. “These gatherings are important and I would say that, overall, the first one has been a great success. People really enjoyed.”

The chef

Gerald Hirigoyen arrived in San Francisco in 1980, when he was 23 years old. He was born in Baiona (Lapurdi) and at a young age, he started his cook apprenticeship in Biarritz (Lapurdi), from where he moved to Paris and then to California. He has been and still is involved in different projects regarding gastronomy. In 2002, Hirigoyen and his wife Cameron opened Piperade in downtown San Francisco, a “West Coast Basque Cuisine,” as he describes it, that incorporates fresh local ingredients into Basques, French, and Spanish dishes.

Piperade (Piperrada) is the name of a classic Basque stew of sizzling peppers, tomatoes, and garlic topped with slices of ham and a poached egg.