Restaurant interiors
This month Oakland’s Piedmont Avenue neighborhood welcomed its newest restaurant, Pomet. This is the first restaurant from K&J Orchards owner and second-generation farmer Aomboon Deasy, who tapped Executive Chef Alan Hsu (three-Michelin-starred Benu and two-Michelin-starred Blue Hill at Stone Barns) and Consulting Sommelier Paul Einbund (Owner, The Morris) to be a part of the restaurant’s all-star team.
Pomet is a cozy, yet spacious, restaurant featuring an open kitchen concept with a wood-burning grill and hearth. The upscale restaurant offers a seasonal California-inspired menu with dishes made primarily of authentic farm-to-table ingredients from K&J Orchards.
The year-round farm was initially started by Aomboon’s parents in 1982, with one of their first clients being the famed The French Laundry in Yountville, California. Today, they sell to over 150 high-end, established restaurants across the Bay Area and East Coast and can be found at all the major farmers’ markets.
Roasted Star Route Carrots
The à la carte menu will focus on letting the season dictate the food and the dishes, using different flavor profiles, layers and textures. The current menu includes dishes such as the Shin Li with kohlrabi, bitter greens, pomegranate and pecan; Cured Bodega Rockfish with fermented radish, chilies, lemon verbena and lime; Fried Zuckerman Farms Potatoes; Lamb Neck Noodles with Shaoxing, foraged greens and parmesan; Aged Stemple Creek Ranch Short Rib with riblet, koji and broccoli; and more.
On the sweet side, the Shinko snow with shiso and the Satsuma Creamsicle Pie are exceptional.
We chatted with Owner Aomboon Deasy, Executive Chef Alan Hsu and General Manager, Kim on the launch of this new neighborhood spot; the inspiration; menu and more. Here’s what they had to day.
Pomet is an homage to my (Aomboon Deasy) father who was a Pomologist for the University of California; he was a lecturer and research professor for over 30 years. The word pomet means “orchard” and stems from word Pomology which is the study of the cultivation of fruit & nut trees.
The orchard and its neighbors are the drivers for the food and menu at Pomet. The relationships and common experiences of farmers and producers allows us to have a better understanding of where our food comes from, and the people and resources required to make it.
Lamb neck noodles
The menu reflects what is available at the farm and what has been preserved from previous seasons. It’ll be hard to give an exact percentage of how much of the orchard is represented on the menu at a given time, but when a fruit from the farm is used, we have chosen to highlight it as well as our producers. We are proud and excited to be working with ingredients and products created with so much integrity from our friends, neighbors, and farm. We want to make sure to give credit for their work.
Pomet is a seasonal and product driven restaurant. The inspiration is the opportunity to represent the people raising and growing amazing products in the greater bay area. Our cuisine is Californian. As a bay area native, our menu is influenced by the multitudes of cultures and backgrounds that thrive here.
Alan (Chef): My past experiences working in fine dining kitchens and traveling cooking has helped me prioritize and value the relationships between purveyors and chefs. The best ingredients come when you are invested in working together with farmers. Chef Corey Lee began my education on the importance of having long standing relationships with farmers, ranchers, and purveyors while working at Benu Restaurant in San Francisco. Those connections are invaluable.
Aged Stemple Creek Ranch Short Rib
Aomboon (Owner): The menu will highlight the importance of why farming and agriculture is extremely important part of our eco system. Not only is the produced being hand harvested and hand selected, but it is also grown to help re-iterate that mother nature produces the best ingredients with the least amount of manipulation as the product. The menu will give our customers a better understanding why we would only have cherries on the menu in the months of May-July and not in December.
Alan (Chef): My working relationship with K&J drew me to open Pomet. It was an easy decision. The rest of the kitchen team were drawn from previous working experiences. I am grateful that everyone has been so willing to take a chance to build something together.
Aomboon (Owner): Knowing Chef Alan from many years ago help me realized what a small and niche community the culinary industry has to offer. I agree with Chef Alan, once I found him the rest of the team followed! When Chef Alan came by the
Pomet Executive Chef Alan Hsu
restaurant that one afternoon, speaking to him felt very easy and comfortable.
I went with my instincts and offered this crazy opportunity! Finding my GM was tougher, but I dug deep into my hospitality rolodex and found that Kim and her bubbly personally would be a very good fit for Pomet.
Kim (General Manager): Our Team comes from different hospitality industry backgrounds, from winemaking and viticulture to fine dining and high-volume restaurants. We want to bring a sense of approachability and professionalism without pretentiousness. When putting together our Team, I felt a sense of genuine compassion and love for hospitality from each of them in addition to an eagerness to learn and an overall warmth, these are things that you can’t teach an employee.
K&J Orchards Owner And Second-Generation Farmer Aomboon Deasy Opens Farm-To-Table Oakland Restaurant, Pomet – Forbes
