Top chefs team up to form culinary...

Top chefs team up to form culinary organization and to prepare special monthly dinners. Some of Ventura County’s top chefs last week teamed with some of the best from Santa Barbara County and one from Malibu to form the Central Coast Culinaire Assn.

Local association members include Sandy Smith of Rosarito Beach Cafe (Ventura), Yvan Lampron of Ojai Valley Inn (Ojai), Randy Saito of the Hyatt Westlake Plaza (Westlake Village), Gael Lecolley of Wheeler’s Hot Springs (Ojai), Francois Milet of The Tower Club (Oxnard), Anthony Gillespie of Pastabilities (Camarillo), Kevin Sherrie of Las Posas Country Club (Camarillo), Ted Growi of L’Auberge (Ojai) and Brian Barker of McCarthy’s (Camarillo).

The 16 members of the CCCA, organized by Robert Lopez, general manager of The Tower Club, will share ideas, and on a monthly basis team up to prepare four-course meals for the public.

“There’s a lot of camaraderie among them, no jealousy,” Lopez said. “They just want to have fun and let the people of Ventura County know who they are.”

Lopez said each month a different chef will host a dinner at his or her restaurant, and the others will pitch in. Chefs will rotate from table to table during the meals to meet with the guests. Cost of these dinners will be $65.

The first joint dinner will be held Tuesday at The Tower Club, with only Tower Club members invited. After that, the meals will be open to the general public, so stay tuned.

*

Chefs association member Randy Saito and his Hyatt Westlake staff of 26 cooks this month have begun to offer an International Lunch Buffet at the hotel’s La Terraza restaurant.

Each weekday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. cuisine from a different region of the world will be featured, with menus changing periodically. The lineup is American food on Mondays, Mexican on Tuesdays, followed by Asian, Italian and South Pacific/Caribbean fare. Cost is $7.75, down from the previous $9.75 buffet price. The Hyatt is located at 800 S. Westlake Blvd.