Downtown Modesto becomes ground zero for foodies, art

By SUSAN HERENDEEN
sherendeen@modbee.com

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Every chef who prepared a "signature dish" under a hot summer sun Saturday at the Modesto Art & Wine Festival talked about purchasing organic foods from local farmers.

Nobody skimped on the good stuff -- butter or cheese or salt.

And every time a chef handed out free samples, the crowd suddenly got a whole lot bigger.

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Secrets from the chefs

Tim Lewis, a sixth-grade teacher from Modesto, noticed the trend, because he and his daughter attended each of the four cooking demonstrations given by chefs from local restaurants.

"See, here they come," Lewis said as he dug his fork into a big chunk of chicken marsala. "They're starting to come now."

The fourth annual festival also offered demonstrations by local artists, a place for kids to paint or color or make origami birds, and lots of vendors with jewelry and paintings for sale. Five bands took the stage throughout the day and adults sampled the reds and whites from E.&J. Gallo Winery and 14 other wineries.

Sponsored by the Central California Art Association, the festival is a fund-raiser for Mistlin Gallery, and organizers said they expected 6,000 to 8,000 people, even on a day when the temperature peaked at 96 degrees.

City Councilman Brad Hawn, who is president of the association, said he hopes to prove that local organizations can liven up downtown and make money in the process. "It takes all kinds," he said. "We just have to be open to lots of different things."

Cooking demonstrations were new to the lineup this year, making 11th and J streets ground zero for foodies. Four chefs took the stage, one at a time, and the only judges were folks who got to taste free samples.

Sous chef Calvin Lee from Clayton's made shrimp tacos.

Chef Jimmy Bella from Vito's Ristorante offered an appetizer, gamberetto shrimp scampi, then an entree, chicken marsala.

Chef Ramiro Gonzales of Tresetti's World Caffe used a creamy sauce to smother his three-cheese ravioli.

And George Bertaina, who owns Étouffeé, pulled out all the stops, offering salmon and mango salsa, followed by shrimp étouffeé, then cashew chicken salad.

Taste-testers grunted their approval between bites, went for seconds and wondered if they could do as well at home.

Bella bobbed as he cooked, because a classic-rock cover band was belting out tunes nearby. He seemed pleased with his performance, because he likes nothing better than a happy stomach.

"When a customer walks up and shakes your hand and says the food was good, it's priceless," Bella said.

Bee staff writer Susan Herendeen can be reached at sherendeen@modbee.com or 578-2338.