Behind the paper plywood: first equipment

The stork made a special delivery to Contigo Monday morning ! Like any proud papa, I took lots of photos. Delivery was touch and go at times, but I suppose that's to be expected when your baby weighs 2,300 pounds.

My little bundle of love is a one-ton wood-fired oven made in the Tuscan hillside village of Reggello and imported by Mugnaini in Watsonville (near Santa Cruz). She has siblings at many local restaurants, including (if I remember correctly) Chez Panisse, Nopa, Coco500, and Lulu. She's the smallest Mugnaini sells, but just the right size for little Contigo. We're going to dress her up in locally made Heath tiles ("seconds," the tile equivalent of hand-me-downs from your older brother or sister).

Is it just me or does she look cuter than other restaurants' ovens?

In no time, my little hearth will grow up and become the focus (literally) of Contigo. She'll be churning out a seasonally changing coca (a type of Catalan flat bread similar to pizza), whole roasted fish, sardines, squid, braised and roasted meats, and all kinds of other yummy treats.

Sigh. They grow up so fast, don't they?

Comments

[Jack at Fork & Bottle]

Where have I seen such an oven before? Oh, where? :)

[haddock]

Congrats. It's always exciting to see the stuff going in.

[cookiecrumb]

A heath hearth! I'm going to love it.

[art]

Nice to see some progress!

Can't wait to see the Heath tiles. I wish I lived in the area to take advantage of their "special" pick-up only tiles.

Speaking of Coco500, is Jen Biesty still the chef there?

[Rachael]

OOH...you are going to LOVE working with that beauty! It was the only thing I actually liked about working at Bizou (Coco500)...what a dream.

Enjoy!

[Tea]

How fun! Congrats on your special delivery.

[brett]

What's this? A response from Brett? It's good to keep y'all on your toes.

Jack, yes, I loved cooking paella-stuffed squid in your Mugnaini.

Haddock, I was beginning to think I'd never see the day that the toys would start to arrive.

Cookiecrumb, a Heath hearth. How fun! I hadn't thought of that before.

Art, yes, Jen is still at Coco, but only through the end of May from what I hear. She and I cooked together at Bizou back when that restaurant was rated 3.5 stars.

Rachael, how funny. I didn't know you worked at Bizou. I wonder if you were there before or after me.

Tea, thanks!

[Joe]

Jennifer Biesty's new menu at Scala's Bistro was announced on Eater SF yesterday:

http://sf.eater.com/archives/2009/01/13/jen_biestys_new_menu_at_scalas_revealed.php