Chef off the old block - Lodi caterer found culinary career with guidance from Dad

Chef off the old block
Lodi caterer found culinary career with guidance from Dad

Vicki Adame
Special to The Record
Published Wednesday, Apr 12, 2006

LODI - Don't expect only Mexican cuisine at an event catered by Julio Camberos Jr. The chef and owner of Black Tie Gourmet serves California cuisine, an eclectic blend of food from many countries.

"That's just because of the way I learned how to cook," Camberos said.

But that's not to say the chef may include Mexican food, sushi, smoked-salmon bruschetta or lamb loin wrapped in puff pastry. He started his catering business four years ago with $100 - money he borrowed from a friend.

Camberos prepares Jack Daniel’s sauce for a New York steak.

Credit: David Finch/The Record

"I didn't even have the $100 to put in the bank to open the business account," Camberos recalled.

That friend, Nick Karavidas, also gave Camberos use of a commercial kitchen in Lockeford. "Nick is the one who gave me the opportunity to work on my own," he said. "I think he saw the potential in me more than I did."

In February 2003, Camberos moved to his current location on Oak Street just off Cherokee Lane in Lodi.

"This place was perfect," Camberos said as he stood next to one of two black Wolf brand stoves.

Rosa Harnack, chairwoman of the Lodi Hispanic Business Committee, has known Camberos for several years. She worked at Cottage Bakery Restaurant when he was the chef.

After returning from college, she learned Camberos had his own catering business. "I've been able to see him grow and pursue his dream," Harnack said.

Camberos also catered the HBC's first reception last year.

"I was impressed with the high quality of food and the presentation," Harnack said.

When Camberos was young, he never entertained thoughts of becoming a chef. During his teen years, his dad worked as the executive chef at a Sheraton hotel.

"As a 12-year-old, I'd go help him clean up banquets, but I didn't know I wanted to be a chef," he said. "I didn't think I was going to be a chef, ever. I'm just a little vato from the neighborhood."

Camberos recalled that "the neighborhood" was a rough one.

Recipes

New York Steak with Jack Daniels Whiskey Sauce

Ingredients
• 1 (10-ounce) New York steak
• 4 ounces of brown sauce
• Portabella mushrooms, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 2 ounces olive oil
• 1 ounce unsalted butter
• Jack Daniels whiskey

Instructions
In a hot skillet, pour in olive oil. When the oil begins to smoke, add the butter and brown the butter. Add the steak and sear to desired doneness.
Remove the steak from the skillet and deglaze the pan with whiskey. Add the brown sauce. Place the steak over the cooked Portabella mushrooms and pour the sauce over and around the steak.

Fresh Berries with Creme Fraiche and Butterfly Cookie

Ingredients
• Fresh berries
• Fresh whipped cream or creme fraiche (available in upscale grocery stores)
For the butterfly cookie:
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 4 egg whites
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions
To make the butterfly cookie: Mix together the ingredients to make a batter. Make a stencil shaped like a butterfly.
Spread a thin layer of the batter into the stencil and bake at 350 F until golden brown.
Mold the butterfly with a crease down the center so the butterfly appears to by flying. It will harden in 30 seconds.
To assemble the dessert: Place one-quarter of the berries and into a martini glass. Top with fresh whipped cream or creme fraiche and garnish with a butterfly cookie.

Chef Julio Camberos Jr. of Black Tie Gourmet n Lodi Ca

Chef Julio Camberos Jr. of Black Tie
Gourmet in Lodi tops a dessert of fresh berries and creme fraiche with a butterfly cookie

Credit: David Finch/The Record

"I don't deny where I came from," he said. "A lot of my friends are dead or in prison."

He realized the culinary arts held the key to his future when, at 20, he moved to Orlando, Fla., where his dad was working as a corporate chef for a hotel.

Camberos worked as a security officer and in a few other jobs. Finally, his dad said if he wanted to work, he could get him a job in the hotel's kitchen prepping food. But his father warned him there would be no favors. The younger Camberos went to work cutting food items for clam chowder and cutting an assortment of vegetables.

The opportunity to work as a cook presented itself when the fry cook didn't show up for work one day.

"They asked me if I'd ever worked on the line. I said, 'Never.' They were surprised, because I was the son of a corporate chef," Camberos said.

He kept moving up. Not long after, he became the sauté chef. Camberos went to work at different hotels, where other chefs helped him improve his skills.

Eventually, Camberos made his way back from the East Coast to Lodi, where he worked for Cottage Bakery Restaurant, among other eateries. While there, he started as the sous chef and was eventually named the executive chef when the previous chef left with only three days' notice. The job allowed him to hone his skills as a chef and as a manager. He spent more than six years there.

"We took it (the restaurant) to the highest rating it could go," Camberos said proudly. "It was a big deal for me."

He eventually left there and accepted a job in Sacramento with Mission Rogelio. But a month into the job, he decided it wasn't going to work out for him. He simply needed more creative freedom in creating dishes.

"I ended up, because of my pride, without a job, and I had bills to pay," Camberos said.

But that decision led him to other opportunities such as appearing on local newscasts' cooking segments and eventually to the opening of Black Tie Gourmet.

As he sat in his office, Camberos reflected on what could have been if he'd continued the associations of his youth - which included street violence and gangs.

"I got the opportunity to get out," he said.

"Culinary was my way up."

Contact Vicki Adame at (209) 943-8564 or vadame@vidaenelvalle.com

Chef Q&A: Julio Camberos

• What ingredient do you find yourself using over and over?
Olive oil.
• Why?
I need to use it all the time. I use it in salads, for cooking. Olive oil is a big ingredient. You've got to have olive oil.
• How do you use it?
I use it for searing meats. When the olive oil has enough heat, I then use unsalted butter and brown it to sear the meat. The mixture caramelizes the meat.
• What type of olive oil do you use?
Pure olive oil for searing meats.
• Do you use different olive oils for different aspects of cooking?
Extra-virgin olive oil is not heated. It is only drizzled over pasta and used with herbs. Another olive oil I use is white truffles, which has a very distinct aroma to it.