James Williams and Tim Stagle
The Backyard Restaurant LOCAL CHEF BRINGS ‘POP-UP’ DINING TO PEOPLE’S HOMES
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local chef wants to bring fine dining to Sacramento backyards. James Williams, who works at South restaurant in Southside Park, recently started a company called Nomad Roaming Kitchen, which
PA By Peter Anderson Meet Your Neighbor
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offers “pop-up” dining experiences at people’s homes. The dinners are multicourse affairs served family-style at communal tables outdoors. Nomad brings everything: tables and chairs, lighting, cooking equipment, food and wine. The host supplies a backyard with space for at least 14 diners, who pay $55 to $85 per person. The diners can be friends of the host or strangers; would-be diners can sign up on Nomad’s website for upcoming dinners. Hosts dine free as a way to thank them for the use of their yard. The menus are seasonally driven. A typical winter menu might include
smoked duck breast on toast; farro salad with Tuscan kale and goat cheese; roast leg of lamb; panroasted trout with prosciutto and pickled cauliflower; truffle risotto cakes; grilled mixed vegetables; and lavender poached pears with blackberry port sauce and toasted macadamia nuts. According to Williams, Nomad is not a traditional catering service. “The primary difference is that we do not take orders from clients or even modify the menus,” he says. “We emphasize and feature what is best in peak seasonality. Plus, by highlighting paired wine offerings
served by stewards and sommeliers, we emulate the essence of five-star dining while maintaining backyard coziness.” Feedback from diners, says Williams, “has been off-the-chart positive. I think it’s because people don’t know what to expect. Once the transformation is complete on their own property, they witness how magical it can become with the string lights and torch lamps, our reclaimedwood tables, and the unique attention, focus and presentation given to both the food and the wine.” Since he began offering the backyard dinners this past fall,