The New Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook: A Cookbook that Might Also Inspire a Trip to Mendocino

The New Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook is more than recipes. It also takes a nostalgic look back the history of Cafe Beaujolais, a restaurant that has been serving meals in the quaint village of Mendocino on California’s north coast since 1968. 

As you might expect, Cafe Beaujolais has had several owners over the years, but none did more to establish the restaurant’s reputation than Margaret S. Fox. During Fox’s more than twenty-year ownership, Ruth Reichl wrote an influential article that brought the restaurant to the attention of many, including Julia Child who dined there.

The Forward is written by Margaret Fox and includes a bit of the Cafe’s history, how she came to Mendocino, became the owner of Cafe Beaujolais and how the Cafe has expanded over time.

In the Introduction, written by Peter Lopez who, along with his wife Melissa and son/Chef Julian Lopez, purchased Cafe Beaujolais in 2016, he shares that just as Margaret was drawn to Mendocino from the big city, so too was his family—though they came from the Los Angeles area rather than the Bay Area. The family fell in love with the Cafe even more as they learned about its history and became part of the community in Mendocino. 

The past 10 years have been busy. In addition to moving the Cafe into its next chapter with an updated menu, the Cafe’s bakery, The Brickery, has expanded to include pizza, and The Waiting Room was created to enjoy everything from morning coffee and pastries to beer and wine. All of this has been accomplished with the help of that Mendocino community Peter mentions in the Introduction.

Chef Julian’s recipes are influenced by the flavors he has experienced in his travel around the world. The recipes begin with Morning Food and an introduction by Julian. Lunch Food, Evening Food, Side Food, Desserts, and Stocks, Sauces & Staples, follow with a similar introduction along with his recipes and a few of Margaret’s. Both of their voices come through clearly in their recipes. And, along the way, the cookbook includes Supplier Highlights where Julian introduces the reader to local growers who provide the eggs, produce, wine and coffee used in the restaurant.

In all, Margaret contributes 10 of her recipes (including the Original Café Beaujolais Black Bean Chili recipe enjoyed by Julia Child) and Julian contributes another 85. There is plenty here to keep you baking and cooking from breakfast to dessert. In addition to inspiring your cooking, The New Cafe Beaujolais Cookbook might just inspire you to visit Mendocino and enjoy a meal at The Waiting Room, The Brickery or Cafe Beaujolais. The book is available for purchase through The Collective Book Studio and elsewhere.

Thanks to The Trina Kay Organization for providing us with an electronic version of the cookbook for review.

Cheers!