Ravin Patel | Executive Chef | The 7th Street Standard
Bailarín Cellars celebrates those who do what they love. Their passion for life is unstoppable and their enthusiasm is infectious. We celebrate these heroes and learn from their words of wisdom as we chase our own pursuits.
This month we celebrate Ravin Patel, the Food & Beverage Director and Executive Chef at The 7th Street Standard, an exciting new establishment within the Hyatt Centric Hotel near the Golden 1 Center. Ravin is a regional powerhouse on the food scene from his prior experiences leading Ella plus events such as the Tower Bridge dinner. Most recently, he elevated Seasons Kitchen & Bar in Davis to new heights while working with Presidio Co to launch The 7th Street Standard.
WHAT MAKES YOU DANCE?
"Creating foods that bring my cultural experiences together”
I am as Californian as they come…born and raised in Sacramento, love the outdoors and love to experience all the amazing surroundings we have here. Love to eat pizza for breakfast cold, love to eat tacos 3 meals in a row. That said I am also 1st generation born Indian American and it has a strong influence on the food I love to eat.
My Parents are from the state of Gujarat in India, a predominately vegetarian state. I grew up gardening with my parents in our backyard in the 80’s and 90’s. They grew produce that was common to them in India, and not available here. My father also owned a small grocery and deli store in Oak Park, and my time there taught me the value of hard work and the importance of hospitality and helping people with our basic needs…. FOOD and BEVERAGE!!!
With such strong influences in my early life, I pursued culinary school and moved to New York after my B.A. from UC Davis. In New York I was able to experience the same melting pot of cultures California has but in a much denser atmosphere.
With so many experiences across so many cultures I’ve truly come to love cooking by mixing flavors and techniques of different cuisines. By embracing my love for Indian food and what it offers to my guest in conjunction of using the abundance of great products we have here in Northern California, drives me to create the food and drinks we have at 7th St Standard and Clayton Club.
Guest, Friends, Peers ask me what food are you doing at the new hotel, and I struggle to convey what it exactly it is…” Its Modern California Cuisine”. My way of saying in short that it’s a smash up of all my experiences in my culinary and personal life. It’s food my mom makes me on my days off that I can apply French technique to ensure that my line cooks can replicate its flavors but deliver it to guest in a restaurant setting. It’s the use of spices and showing guest that if it contains Cumin and Turmeric it does not make it “Curry”.
Cooking in this way makes me Dance, it embodies the way we have formed communities, through our fascination with others through their food and libations. A fire, some food, and a little music will lend itself to one simple thing…Dancing.
-Ravin Patel