Califia Cafe
The Calafia menu showcases California cuisine, and draws upon organic, locally sourced, high quality ingredients. Calafia Café is proud of our partnership with Marin Sun Farms, as well as relationships with local farmers from Healdsburg to Watsonville that ensure we deliver the freshest ingredients to our valued clientele. Calafia follows the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch recommendations, uses free-range organic poultry, and grass-fed beef.
Charlie Ayers
Executive Chef/Proprietor Chef Charlie lives by the creed "eat, drink, and be merry." For the past 25 years, he has embodied this ideal as a chef, providing eclectically inspired food and drink in an atmosphere of music and fun. Chef Charlie was born in Brooklyn, grew up in New England, attended culinary school in Providence, Rhode Island at Johnson & Wales University, and cooked at several restaurants in the Providence and Boston areas until a desire to travel and experience new flavors led him to California. Charlie is best known as, “the chef who fed Google.” It was a job he won in a cook-off in 1999, judged by the company’s then 40 employees. By the time he left Google in 2005, his team of five chefs and 150 employees were serving 4,000 lunches and dinners a day at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, CA. After six years at Google, Charlie left to open Calafia Café & Market A Go-Go in Palo Alto, CA. His concept epitomizes the idea that "being green" is good for the producer, consumer, environment and local community. A former private chef and personal chef to the Grateful Dead, Charlie continues to consult for startup companies, cater private events, and coordinate food service and backstage catering teams at open air music festivals. Charlie has published a cookbook, Food 2.0: Secrets from the Chef that Fed Google, that exemplifies his culinary vision. In May, 2014 Charlie received an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater, Johnson & Wales University, for his contributions to the culinary arts. In his free time, Charlie serves on advisory boards for several nonprofits, enjoys relaxing at home, and cooking for friends and family. |
Michael Bippus Chef de Cuisine Michael’s passion for cooking began as a boy, watching his mother and grandmother create amazing meals in the family kitchen. His desire to pursue the culinary arts as a profession was confirmed when he landed his very first job at a restaurant during high school. Michael graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Culinary Arts from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. During his time at Johnson & Wales, he completed a sommelier study in Germany, which fueled his interest in food and wine pairings. Michael recently relocated from North Carolina to join the Calafia Cafe team as Chef de Cuisine. He is a firm believer in supporting local, sustainable farms which in turn allow him to deliver the highest quality meal to guests. Michael enjoys varying cuisines and technique to keep creativity alive in his kitchen. A recent change in lifestyle has Michael creating menus with a vegetarian focus. |