The Santa Ynez Valley has long been a getaway for television celebrities; many TV stars even made the valley home: Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Cheryl Ladd, Jennie Garth, Noah Wyle, John Forsythe, and Fess Parker, just to name a few.
Add the name Budi Kazali to the list of local luminaries appearing on the small screen.
The owner of the Ballard Inn debuted a TV cooking show, The Inn Crowd with Chef Budi Kazali, on June 30. KEYT-Channel 3 is broadcasting the locally produced show on Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. Season One consists of 14 half-hour episodes.
Budi (pronounced BOO-dee) is already a Santa Barbara County celebrity with a loyal following thanks to his extraordinary talents in the kitchen, but the accomplished chef is sure to expand that fan base with his new TV program.
“It’s an exciting time! It’s so different than what I’m used to,” Kazali said.
This isn’t the first time the generally camera-shy gourmet chef was encouraged to do TV.
After graduating from the California Culinary Academy and spending time honing his skills at San Francisco’s La Folie and the Campton Place restaurants, West met East, so to speak, as Kazali moved to Massachusetts to work with chef Ming Tsai.
While working together at Tsai’s Blue Ginger restaurant, the James Beard Award-winning Tsai suggested that Kazali consider doing TV, too. Tsai starred in the Food Network show East Meets West with Ming Tsai, and today he’s host to Simply Ming on public television.
Kazali returned to San Francisco where he sharpened his French cuisine chops at Restaurant Gary Danko and became rededicated to fine Asian fare while at Ozumo.
In 2004, Kazali and his wife, Chris, bought the Ballard Inn bed and breakfast and restaurant, in the heart of the Santa Ynez Valley.
They built a restaurant clientele by blending French and Asian flavors in an elegant, intimate setting.
Kazali not only inspires the dining public with his sophisticated culinary creations, but also his staff.
One of those young employees was Michelle Lee Ball, who worked at the Ballard Inn for six years as a server and wine expert.
“Budi is the person that taught me about food. I started working there when I was 19, and he’s the one that made me get excited about really eating and being willing to try new things,” Michelle said.
She went on to work for chef Bradley Ogden at Root 246, where she was the restaurant’s original wine director.
Michelle is again working with Kazali. She and her equally talented husband, Jeremy Ball, own Bottle Branding, a Solvang-based company providing photography, video, and graphics for the food and wine industry.
The Balls shoot and edit all of the episodes of The Inn Crowd, going on location with Kazali all over the county—working hard and enjoying the ride.
“We have just a tremendous amount of respect for his passion; it makes him an elite chef, because he never stops learning,” Jeremy said. “He never stops attempting things, and I think that’s just magical.”
“He’s just a phenomenal chef and a phenomenal guy,” Michelle said. “He’s just such a great guy to be around, and he’s so fun and light hearted.”
“I’m trying to incorporate it in my TV show, that cooking should be enjoyed. It should be a fun thing,” Kazali said to me. “Enjoy going to the farmers market, looking for the produce, and bringing it home and cooking with the family and using local ingredients.”
Episode one opened with Kazali shopping at El Rancho Market for ingredients he would use in the show.
“We’re so lucky. We’re on the West Coast. We have great produce, great fish, meat even—everywhere,” Kazali told me. “Hopefully people learn where the food is coming from, and it’s not so bad that we live so close to so many wineries. It’s a natural thing: food and wine.”
Kazali then visited Palmina Winery in Lompoc to taste wines made by Steve and Chrystal Clifton. Their goal is to “bring food back to the table.” Kazali invited them back to the inn to assist in the kitchen.
Together they had fun concocting a tuna tartar dressing with chopped ginger, olive oil, Sambal chili paste, soy sauce, sesame oil, toasted sesame seeds, and chopped chives. The bite-sized ahi is spooned onto endive leaves and paired with Chrystal’s Rosé, Botasea.
Next, Kazali and the Cliftons assembled and fried shrimp and basil wontons, pairing them with a Palmina white wine, Malvasia Bianca.
They also made beef tenderloin bites with shiitake mushrooms marinated with a miso glaze, paired with a Palmina Barbera.
The episode ended with invited guests enjoying a hors d’ouevres party at the Ballard Inn, where Kazali thanked everyone for being a part of The Inn Crowd.
“Cooking should be enjoyed by everyone. You should want to cook,” Kazali told me. “In my household, cooking involves everybody.”
He and his wife have three children, ages 9 years, 7 years, and 11 months.
“Just to throw things into the mix, I have a little baby, and now a TV show,” Kazali laughed.
His two oldest children joined Dad in the kitchen for one episode, making homemade ice cream, continuing a Kazali family tradition of making the kitchen the “family room.”
“When I was growing up, everyone was sitting in the kitchen,” he said. “We’re all talking. It’s very much a family thing.”
Kazali knew how to roll spring rolls even as a child.
“Now, I know how to do it faster,” he said with a laugh, “and how to do a lot more!”
Who is your favorite chef? Sun food and wine writer Wendy Thies Sell invites you to tell her at wthies@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2012.
