‘Event of the year’

When James Taylor was a kid, he lived next door to his Sicilian grandparents’ restaurant in Watsonville. He recalls playing in the back of The Italian Gardens with his sister like it was yesterday. They’d create mini pizzas on the tops of bottle caps, using dough and other food scraps.

It was only natural that Taylor would find his calling in the kitchen. He started working in the restaurant industry when he was just 14.

Last month, his Chico restaurant, Sicilian Cafe, celebrated its 35th anniversary. For about 25 of those years, Taylor has put a tremendous amount of thought into Valentine’s Day, treating it as the “event of the year.”

Indeed, it’s an elaborate culinary experience. Taylor has crafted a five-course meal with this day of love and romance in mind. It starts with an aperitif: He likes to serve a sparkler—either prosecco, champagne or cider—paired with an antipasto plate (pickled and fresh veggies, cheese and salami). Then comes the appetizer: supple oysters on the half-shell with a cucumber mignonette, followed by a candied walnut citrus salad topped with blue cheese.

For the main dish, a tender, 8-ounce, bacon-wrapped filet mignon is served with prawn scampi (a 50-year-old family recipe), sauteed asparagus and rosemary fingerling potatoes. It’s paired with a cabernet and followed by a flourless, warm chocolate cake with a decadent, bittersweet center, complete with a scoop of organic vanilla ice cream and fresh blackberries.

Taylor calls the experience “a marriage of good food.” “What I try to do is make something … diverse from what you had last time, to make your palette have every sense,” he said. “You want your bitters, you want your sweets, you want your salts. … But it’s not overwhelming—nothing’s too salty, nothing’s too peppery. It’s a complement of everything.”

While Taylor chose to highlight these five courses for the CN&R, there are several options, including vegetarian, on the special holiday menu. He noted that the dishes can be requested year-round, provided he has notice, and taking seasonal availability into account.

Taylor has found working in the culinary field to be so rewarding because “people give me an opportunity to make them happy or blow them away.” He has been a part of some of his clients’ most significant memories—in particular, weddings and engagements.

This also is true for the upcoming holiday meal, often a meaningful night for diners. Taylor sees many familiar faces each year. “Someone told me, ‘That was our first date … and we’ve been coming back for 10 years.’

“We try to invoke the nuance of the day, but also the history of our restaurant,” Taylor said. “Valentine’s Day is the most romantic thing ever, and we have to go crazy for that … because it is the beginning or the continuation of a great relationship. We have to be there for them.”