Meet Lesley

"The lesson of my life's story is to trust.  Even when it was hardest to believe, I was just where I was meant to be: on the way to fulfilling my God-given talents by cooking food with love, working hard (and being grateful that I could), and bringing a measure of kindness and grace to the world. "

California Glory Days
I grew up in the glory days of California, when the fragrance of orange blossoms filled the air and the earth smelled rich whenever the Rain Bird sprinklers irrigated the alfalfa.  I can close my eyes anytime I want and smell the memory of our farm in Riverside.

To me, a keen sense of smell is one of the signs of a competent chef: cinnamon and pine remind me of Christmas; fresh-mowed hay, my childhood; Mennen's After Shave, my dad; bourbon and Coke, my grandparents' house in Claremont, California; fresh-baked bread, our family kitchen.  If you really think about it, smell links to taste, to memories, to emotions.

My cooking career was launched at age five in cahoots with Lyn, my twin sister, best friend, cooking buddy, and fellow troublemaker.  We made a cake without our mother's help - and without a recipe.  The cake didn't bake all the way through, so we took it out of the oven, cut down the dome-shaped top, and put it back in to finish cooking.  (I know now, as a pastry chef, that even opening the door when a cake is cooking is risky business.) The cake was chocolate and it passed the test with us so we ate it. 

Inspired by our sweet tooth (our mother would not buy sweets for us), we quickly graduated to fudge.  On our first try, we reversed the quantities of sugar and salt - an indescribable taste!

I already knew how to cook when I joined 4-H at age nine; but in 4-H, I learned to be a chef.  Our 4-H group was all about cooking, sewing, and home décor.  All three would become important creative pursuits throughout my life. 

Established in the 1920s, when women's work and men's work were delineated more distinctly than today, early 4-H clubs offered practical, hands-on home-economics programs to girls, with instruction in canning, cake decorating, meal preparation, and gardening.  The focus wasn't just on making cookies or bread, but knowledge of nutrition, the four food groups, and how to prepare a balanced meal.  It was the foundation from which I would later build.

I entered my cakes, cookies, and breads in 4-H fairs, from the Indio Date Festival to the Sacramento State Fair, winning awards and ribbons.  I loved cooking and it came naturally to me. 

"My fear was that if I cooked for a livin, I would lose my only joy."
I started cooking professionally later in life than most.  In my teens and into my twenties, I worked in restaurants, waiting tables, because the money was good and the social life easy.

In 1988, I met my wonderful husband, Peter.  We lived in Mill Valley, married in 1990, and moved to Sonoma, California with our cat, Oxy.  The only thing I had ever loved doing was cooking, but my fear was that if I cooked for a living, I would lose my only joy.  I told my fears to a chef friend, and he said, "Lesley, I have never lost my passion."

Along with great encouragement from Peter, that was all I needed to get started on a life-changing experience.  I went to the Swiss Hotel and the Eastside Oyster Bar and Grill, both in downtown Sonoma, and worked for free as an intern.  I never cleaned more fish or made more raviolis in my life.  Even with all that hard work, I knew this was my profession.  It didn't take long to discover that I liked pastry work better than anything - partly because it didn't require putting up with the arrogance and remarks of the male line chefs.

I was 36 years old and just beginning my life.  I went to work at the Artisan Bakery and started culinary school at the California Culinary Academy on Polk Avenue in San Francisco.  I felt like I knew more than anyone in my classes, but I had to earn the credentials.  We had to wear chef toques, arrive on time, take tests, and be respectful towards our chefs.  It taught me about protocol and kitchen language.  "Mise en place" - everything in its place.

My first job out was at Bistro Don Giovanni, in Napa, owned by Donna and Giovanni Scala.  Two of the greatest restaurateurs I know, they also own Scala's in San Francisco.  They are my heroes - I learned more from them than from anyone.  This couple had worked from the ground up and knew their stuff.

Fay's Garden Court Café
All this time, Peter was traveling as a sales rep for one of the last standing U.S. producers of men's shirts.  He was on the road six months out of the year, and it was wearing.  We were always looking for ways to get him off the road when, one day, we walked into a little restaurant called Garden Court Café - a Sonoma institution.  Prior to that, it was a hangout called Mother Flugger's.  It was a tiny space, but we immediately saw its potential. 

We offered to buy it, and our offer was accepted.  I remember the first day of ownership. Peter had a minor breakdown, and I had to send him home to sleep.  He had never worked in a restaurant, and little did either of us know what in store for us. 

We set to work, putting in a new black-and-white tile floor, painting the café a fabulous yellow set off by magnificent flower boxes, and creating adorable accent shelving.  We renamed it Fay's Garden Court Café.

It wasn't long before the restaurant became a huge success.  It looked like everyone's dream: Sonoma wine country; a cute, quaint restaurant, always busy; and lots of rave reviews from publications like Sunset and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as from foodies near and far.  Folks waited for hours to enjoy our special benedicts, the biggest banana pancakes in the world, or homemade biscuits and jam. 

We were too small to have much staff and too busy not to have enough.  I was never a morning person, but when you own a breakfast and lunch restaurant, you get up at 4:30 a.m. to get in at 5:00 a.m. to proof the baking and get ready.  (I don't think I wore a lick of mascara for the years we owned it - I never had time.)

"Early morning at the restaurant turned out to be my favorite time."
But once I was up, early morning at the restaurant turned out to be my favorite time.  I would have a double or triple espresso and a pecan rum sticky bun, crank up the music, and start baking for the day, with no one to bother me.  Sugar and caffeine were my friends.  It was the most backbreaking, tiring work I had ever done in my life (except for picking cotton as a kid).  We would put out 200 meals in a 43-seat restaurant out of a tiny kitchen.  If I stepped off the line for a second, I would lose the timing and drown in tickets.  It was so hot in the summer that we would hose ourselves off outside and come back to cook. 

I was out to prove how good I was; as I had yet to become the confident cook I am today.  So I started packaging my jams and jellies to sell to guests.  The products sold well, and since we used them at the restaurant, I started packing them in both gallons and retail size.  After a couple of years, I started bagging my own scone mixes - Lemon Ginger, Cranberry Orange and Sun Dried Tomato and Basil.  I expanded the food line to 15 items: dessert sauces, mustards, aioli, preserves, and baking mixes, selling them in my own retail shop and to the top gourmet markets in Northern California.

But the industry was undergoing a radical shift from a small handmade, homemade market to the big business run by grocery buyers that it is today.  The big food companies realized they could spin off the from the smaller-scale ideas, create a "gourmet product line," and blow out the gourmet food market Competition was fierce. 

We sold the restaurant and decided to start a farm and build a farm stand to sell the Lesley B. Fay food line along with our fresh produce and flowers. 

Graham's Grand Opening
On March 15, 2007, we celebrated the grand opening of Graham's Grille in Taos, New Mexico.  It wasn't an auspicious start - we were mired in partner and kitchen problems, and it would be awhile before we got our liquor license.  In January, I had badly broken my ankle in a skiing accident and was limping around in a clumsy cast.  We were facing yet another of the many uphill battles of our lives.

By 2008, Graham's was making a name for itself, its reputation led by its fabulous, unique cuisine, its warm and welcoming ambiance, and its incomparable customer service.  Our food is delicious, unpretentious, and affordably priced, so locals and tourists can dine with us often.  Our wine list features wines chosen by our expert sommelier to marry with our menu offerings.  In 2010 we won the prestigious Wine Spectator award for our wine list.

I cook with love, and Peter greets with affection, and it makes people happy.  We thrive on the opportunity to show our appreciation and bring joy to everyone who joins us for breakfast, lunch,, or dinner at Graham's.

When my staff finds someone difficult, I ask them to imagine that person as their mother or father and extend the same courtesy.  Of course, there will be people who thrive on another's mistakes, but that is the way of things.  We might stumble from time to time, but Peter and I will never give up.  We will always apologize; do what we can to make it right, and move forward with good spirit unto tomorrow.  It's been a winning formula so far, and I have no doubt it will carry us through whatever stormy weather we might encounter through the rest of our lives. 

Lesley is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and in 2000 won a Gold Award at the Napa Valley Mustard Festival World-Wide Competition.