Fresh from our field trip the Big City, today we continue to redraw our lines of content.
Today we visit a local star with reaches that are surpassing our circulation and explore a little of why we will continue to see Chef Rodney Worth’s empire grow exponentially for years to come.
When I started out on this writing endeavor, my aim was to bring you the reader a taste (from experience) of why some restaurants experience success while others go dark and pack up in the dead of night. Food plays such a surprisingly small attribute to the formula that sets notable places apart. In my upcoming book, What Seem to be the Problem?, I draw the thick line in the sand that separates those that “get it” and those that don’t. Rodney Worth GETS IT!
Born and raised right here in the area of ALIVE’s circulation, Rodney has always had his finger on the pulse of the Tri-Valley, simply because it is his pulse as well. He understands what we want and how we want to feel, and he has never over complicated that. With his business sense coming from grocery store operations (his first job) and his food passions coming from the kitchen at Wente Vineyards as well as Bizou (now Coco 500), Rodney is no stranger to fine food and high end clientele.
What sets Rodney apart from most is that he only wants to give it all away! His desire is that we, as consumers, experience what he knows to be true. Those truths are that farm to table is the best way to eat in a close-knit, family-friendly community. That ALL food served needs to be raised sustainably or needs to not be served at all. That certification of food prepared is crucial. Certified “line caught” fish, certified “wild”, certified “grass-fed” and “free-range.” This is the food that is important and this is the food that will make you feel good. This is food that will not poison you but rather feed your soul.
Then he brings in his strong family values and blurs the line to non-existent between family and his professional life. He opened Ferraris Cucina Italiana as homage to his wife Natalie, her heritage, and their family recipes. He hosts his son’s baseball parties at his restaurants. He brings his kids with him to work so they can see what he does and he brings us all along for the ride on Facebook where I have never seen his children not smiling (they get that from him too).
Rodney is a bit of a hero to me personally because I admire this man for showing us all that success can come from doing what you love the right way.
Five years ago our family lost our patriarch and since that time, the carving of the Thanksgiving bird has become more a scene from Saw than function. Rodney’s YouTube tutorial on how to properly prepare and carve a Turkey saved our holiday! When I was told by Eric here at ALIVE that I should gather testimonials from celebrities for the back cover of my book, Rodney was the only person I approached, because his is the only testimonial I wanted. I forwarded the book to him so that he could form a valid opinion and then decide if he wanted to endorse. To my delight, he connected. Just knowing that Rodney and I speak a similar language and that both of us want to share that secret language with the public makes me want to put his baseball card in the spokes of my bike.
Rodney has six restaurants listed here in order of opening: Peasant and the Pear (Danville), Peasants Courtyard (Alamo), Little Pear, Prickly Pear and Ferraris (Blackhawk) and Pear Southern Bistro (Napa).
Pick one and go!
Leave a Reply