Romney Steele - My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur

B ig Sur has this intoxicating allure, draws you in, holds you, and never wants to let you go. When youre in Big Sur, youre forced to enjoy the simple things in life, the things most important to me and most important to this book: food, family, art, and nature.

SARA REMINGTON

My Nepenthe text copyright 2009 by Romney Steele. Photography copyright 2009 by Sara Remington, except where noted below. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews. For information, write Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC, an Andrews McMeel Universal company, 1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106.

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

APPR

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Steele, Romney.

My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur / Romney Steele; photography by Sara Remington. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

E-ISBN: 978-0-7407-9046-1

1. Nepenthe RestaurantHistory. 2. Cookery, AmericanCalifornia style. 3. Steele, Romney. I. Title.

TX945.5.N38S74 2009

641.59794dc22

2009013259

www.mynepenthebook.com

Design by Lisa Berman
Cover design by Lisa Berman
Front cover photograph by Kodiak Greenwood
Cover fabric by Kaffe Fassett
Author photo by Sara Remington
Styling Assistant: Tina Snow

Photo Credits: pages 30-31, 35: Morley Baer 2009 by the Morley Baer Photography Trust, Santa Fe (page 30-31: Lee Harbick Collection, California History Room, Monterey Public Library); page 121: Walter Chappell; page 117: Tenny Chonin; pages 2, 47, 100, 322-23: Brooke Elgie; pages 56-57, 88-89, 100 (top): J.R. Eyerman, Time & Life Pictures, Getty Images; page 29: Lewis Josselyn; page 44: Ben Lyons; page 41: Heidi McGurrin; all other historical images and illustrations are courtesy of the Fassett family, or by author.

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In memory of my grandparents,
Bill and Lolly Fassett

To Trevor and Nicoya, with love,
and for my family

Perched on the Big Sur cliffs 808 feet above the Pacific Ocean in California, Nepenthe Restaurant boasts sweeping views of the rugged Santa Lucia mountain range and the wild south coast of Monterey County. Angular mountains plunge into the crashing surf below, and on a clear day there is no limit to the scenery, unspoiled and immense in nature. Opened in 1949 by my maternal grandparents, the restaurant is nestled among native oak trees and a historic log cabin (now faced by brick) once owned by Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, which has been our family home since 1947. The original property was 12 acres and the family holdings have since grown to 37 acres of land, with multiple structures added over the years.

Sixty years on, Nepenthes design, with its integrated architecture, vivid patio, and terraced landscaping, remains as modern and unique as it was when it was built. Rock gardens brim with native and drought-tolerant plants, and wild sage and lavender permeate the walkways. The treasure-filled Phoenix Shop below the restaurant and its rooftop caf are now deeply imbedded in place, and just as much a part of the Nepenthe experience.

Growing up at Nepenthe, I recall no singular moment of awe at seeing the view for the first time, no marveling at the experience in the same way as someone visiting. For those of us who grew up on the property, Nepenthe was not a novelty; it was our home. Little changed when we woke each morning, except for the weather. The restaurant opened its doors daily, the sharp hills against a backdrop of sea and sky remained ever-present. Our moment of awe, instead, was when guests arrived: the famous and not so famous, the movie stars, writers, travelers, old friends, and rugged individualists, as my grandmother called the many colorful people who passed through Nepenthes doors. How many people will show up today? we wondered, or Look who just walked across the terrace, wed shout, then line up on my grandmothers row of chenille-covered beds to watch through the windows.

Our Nepenthe was largely a theatre show, the terrace a grand stage and the guests unwitting players in our production. I loved the costumes, the nightly dancing, and the dressing up and occasionally pretending to be a customer, the waiters going along with my game. I occasionally pine for the childhood experience, to dance once more in circles under the lights, my arms outstretched, without a care in the world.

When I was in my early thirties, and living in Henry Millers cabin on Big Surs Partington Ridge with two young children and working as a pastry chef at Sierra Mar Restaurant, I started thinking about writing my familys story. There at the same massive table where Henry shared meals with family and friends, the idea took hold.

Yet, honestly, I didnt know the shape or form it would take, and didnt anticipate the agony and wonder of unearthing family tales (not least my own), nor all the work it would take to compile all the recipes, down to the last teaspoon of salt in a pot of soup. I spent countless hours in my cousin Erins archive room in the family cabin, going through old papers and letters she had neatly organized in files. I dug through dozens of boxes in the back shed at Nepenthe, sorted through hundreds of old photographs, read my grandmothers letters and correspondence to and from my grandfather, and tracked down my familys history in libraries and search engines from Carmel to San Francisco to New York.

This is not the definitive Nepenthe story or even an unbiased account, but the way I experienced it, or in some cases, chose to retell it. It is my Nepenthe. Everyone has their own Nepenthe experience, their own unique stories to tell. I hope that each of you find some of your Nepenthe within the pages of this book. Surely there will be moments of dissent, when someone reads something and says it isnt so. I have tried to write only what I know is true, or otherwise allude as much.