New de Young Museum Café to Feature Artisinal Food, Local Farmers
Bon Appétit Management Company announces museum café opening ahead of museum; guests and park visitors can preview delicious, seasonal menu
San Francisco, August 14, 2005 – When the de Young museum store and café open to the public on August 17, 2005, two months in advance of the museum’s grand opening on October 15, visitors will get a real taste of the Bay Area. The café menu – crafted by locally based Bon Appétit Management Company – will feature delicious seasonal dishes created with fresh, local ingredients from small family farmers and artisanal producers.
As part of Bon Appétit’s pioneering “Farm to Fork” program, these ingredients are grown or produced within 150 miles of the kitchen where they will be prepared. The de Young menu will include cheeses and dairy products from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, Straus Family Creamery, and Cowgirl Creamery, breads from Berkeley’s Acme Bakery, natural meats and poultry from Napa Valley Beef, Niman Ranch, and Marin Sun Farms, and organic produce from Green Gulch in Sausalito and Eat Well Farms in Davis. Local wines and Berkeley’s legendary Peet’s coffee will also be featured.
“We are pleased to have Bon Appétit, which was originally founded in San Francisco, as a partner,” said Harry S. Parker III, Director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. “Their commitment to using local, sustainably produced ingredients enhances the de Young’s mission of serving its community.”
Visitors to the 3,700-square-foot cafe, which looks out into the Barbro Osher Sculpture Garden, need not pay museum admission to enjoy the fine cuisine and warmly original ambience. Comfortable modern seating, hand-blown glass light fixtures by Berkeley artist Dan Reilly, and views of the same historic palm trees which graced the original de Young create a welcome and engaging respite that complement the authenticity of the menu.
“In the Bay Area, we are surrounded by the colors and textures of spectacular products from farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and local artisans,” said Fedele Bauccio, CEO of Bon Appétit Management Company. “Working with the de Young cafe is a perfect expression of how food and art can contribute to the community.”
About Bon Appétit Management Company
Bon Appétit Management Co. is an onsite restaurant company offering full food service management by providing cafe and catering service to specialty venues, universities and corporations. Founded in San Francisco in 1987, it is considered one of the nation’s leading proponents of marrying culinary excellence with sustainable foods. Its cuisine is featured in several prominent cultural institutions on the West Coast, including the Getty Center, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Since 1999, the company has had sustainable and responsible sourcing policies in place as part of its core business practices. The company is passionate about serving fresh food to its guests, purchasing directly from local farmers and artisan producers, and protecting the environment. Based in Palo Alto, CA, Bon Appétit has more than 190 cafes in 26 states.
About the new de Young
Founded in 1895 in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, the de Young museum has been an integral part of the cultural fabric of the city and a cherished destination for millions of residents and visitors to the region for over 100 years. On October 15, 2005, the de Young museum will re-open in a new facility designed by the Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron and Fong & Chan Architects in San Francisco. The new de Young will provide San Francisco with a landmark art museum to showcase the museum’s significant collections of American art from the 17th through the 20th centuries, modern and contemporary art, art from Central and South America, the Pacific and Africa, as well as an important and diverse collection of textiles.
The de Young and its sister museum, the Legion of Honor, together make up the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the largest public arts institution in the city and one of the largest art museums in the United States.