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Zachary Jacques
1821 Pleasant Valley Road
Placerville, CA 95667
Phone: (530) 626-8045
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ZACHARY JACQUES New Owners
Article that appeared in the MOUNTAIN DEMOCRAT
Dec. 30, 2005- A love for food creates a good recipe
By Doug Noble, Democrat correspondent
After owning and operating Zachary Jacques Country French Cuisine for nearly two decades, Christian and Jennifer Masse decided to sell the restaurant and pursue something else. Selling a successful restaurant that you have built into a place with an outstanding reputation for quality French cuisine and excellent service is not a simple task. After interviewing many potential buyers, the Masses selected John and Lynnette Evans, who have the background and experience to maintain what the Masses worked so hard to create.
At the young age of 16 John Evans obtained a job as a busboy at a restaurant. At first it was a way to make money, but he began to fall in love with the business. He also fell in love with the hostess, Lynnette, who he later married.
Working in the front of the house was okay, but he really wanted to be in the back where all the action is - the kitchen. After building up a bit of experience, he had the opportunity to go into a partnership in a restaurant in La Jolla. Unfortunately, after a number of years the partnership began to dissolve and he was left with some free time while waiting for the legal process of dividing the partnership to complete itself.
Evans had gained a lot of experience in restaurant kitchens but no real formal culinary education. First he thought about going to France for school, but that didn't work out. It was at that point he decided to look into Le Cordon Bleu, College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas, the culinary Mecca of the west. While at school he became good friends with three other young students, Dan Bressler, Danny Aguilar, and Jarred Bantigue.
Each of them had experience in a different area of the restaurant business, and together they complemented each other. “John told us that one day he would be opening his own restaurant,” said Bressler, “and he would ask us to help him.” That day was not too far away.
“During school and after graduating, I began to look into working at one of the upscale restaurants in Las Vegas,” said Evans. “If you have the experience and knowledge, some restaurants will let you work in their kitchen for free, or maybe a small stipend. That is the way they find out if you are good or not. They call it ‘stagiaire,' which is the French term for a chef's apprentice. I had a 4.0 grade point average at the Culinary Academy and was fortunate to be accepted at one of the top restaurants in Las Vegas, Bouchon, a classic French bistro in The Venetian hotel. The first day they gave me a case of shallots to peel, slice and chop. They do everything by hand and need it done fast. I put on about five pair of gloves, but still cut myself. Mark Hopper, the chef, yelled a lot, but he was a great teacher.
While I was working at Bouchon, I took a day off to apprentice at Nob Hill in the MGM Grand Hotel. Michael Mina, another great chef, told me to come up with a soup for 700 people. I looked in the pantry and found they had a lot of mushrooms, so I put together a wild mushroom soup with a truffle oil garnish. They were delighted and offered me a job, but I decided to stay at Bouchon for the time being.
“When Andre Agassi, the tennis professional, decided to open the restaurant Sedona, in Las Vegas, I was able to get employment there as a Gardé Manger, who is the person in the kitchen responsible for the ‘art and craft of the cold kitchen.' While I was working with chef Steve Hopcraft at Sedona, my wife and I started looking for a restaurant to purchase. We wanted one in a small community with an access to fresh vegetables and meat. We contacted a broker who told us about Zachary Jacques in El Dorado County and we decided to take a look,” Evans said.
“While we were driving along Pleasant Valley Road, my wife said, ‘We've driven down this street before and we have been to this restaurant before.' She was right, I could even remember what I had when we ate there, the wonderful sweetbreads Christian was noted for. It was déja vu and it felt right. With all the local wineries, it seemed like Napa in the 1970s,” Evans continued.
“My wife and I talked it over and decided it was just what we wanted. On top of everything else, we have a five year old daughter and the Placerville area seemed a perfect place to raise her -- good schools and churches on nearly every corner,” Evans said.
“We bought the restaurant and needed help in the kitchen and dining room. I thought to myself, ‘who better to help me than my three former fellow students, Bressler, Aguilar and Bantigue.' They were excited when I called them and they all showed up to work at the restaurant. I have always had the philosophy that ‘what you learn, you need to give back,' and this was my opportunity to do that. It was also my opportunity to learn from them,” Evans said.
“From the moment we opened, we have had a great response from the community. Christian and Jennifer had a great following, so we are keeping much of the menu created by Christian. But we are making a few changes here and there, to reflect my training. However, the biggest change is going to be with the restaurant itself. In the near future we will be expanding the wine bar area into a bistro, serving lunch, brunch and perhaps a buffet. Shortly we will have the patio made into a sort of sun room so it can be used all year around as an extension of the bistro. We also plan on having special wine tastings in the wine bar, featuring wines from the fantastic El Dorado County wineries. Of course, the main dining room will continue to be for the fine dining that people enjoy so much,” continued Evans,
There are two fine dining menus at Zachary Jacques. Both have exquisite country French dishes, but one is ala carte and the other a “fixed price,” seasonal menu. In the wine bar there is a third menu with unique dishes and some smaller helpings of those on the main menus.
Here are a few of the menu items, but since the menu is changes as fresh ingredients become available, some items may not be on the menu. Offerings include: Escargots Bourguignonne (traditional Burgundy style); Moules au Safran et à la Moutarde (mussels with saffron and mustard); oysters three ways; Canard aux Senteurs de Provence (seared duck breast and leg of confit served with honey, orange, lavender and ginger); Carré d' Agneau Rôti à la Grecque (roast rack of lamb with green olives, tomatoes and herbs); and Filet de Boef aux Trois Poivres (filet of beef served with a sauce of green, pink and black peppercorns, shallots and Cognac).
Wednesday is “Ladies Night Out” with a 20 percent discount for ladies on the food in the wine bar; on Thursday there is no corkage fee, so bring a favorite bottle of wine from your cellar to enjoy and share with your friends; and on Sunday they will continue the “Sunday in the Country,” five course Country French dinner with pleasant live music, for $25 per person.
Recently they have added a Saturday and Sunday Brunch, which is served from 10:30 until 2:00. For lack of a better term, they call it a “Country Brunch,” but it is far from ordinary. “The French don't really do a breakfast, so we had to improvise,” said Evans. “We are experimenting with new things we find locally. We have everything from Filet of Beef Hash with eggs, to Cinnamon Swirl Brioche French Toast, to Burgoo (oatmeal) made with steel cut oats. Jarred is in charge of the brunch and he is doing a great job.”
In addition to the Saturday and Sunday Brunch and the “Sunday in the Country” French dinner, Zachary Jacques is open for their wonderful dinners from 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday (the wine bar opens a half hour before the restaurant).
Zachary Jacques located at 1821 Pleasant Valley Road, is about three miles east of Diamond Springs. Reservations are highly recommended and can be made by calling 626-8045.
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