50 Great Ideas

Be my guest

It’s a pop-up, but one better. That was the idea behind Guest Chef, a new restaurant in Oakland, California, designed to feature a rotating cameo of chefs, caterers and cooks.

Noting the area’s vibrant food truck scene, local builder/developer Scott Cameron built out the space as a 20-seat café with a full display kitchen where chefs can try out their ideas for two weeks in exchange for a percentage of the receipts. Cameron holds the liquor license, and the chefs provide nothing other than the food. The first “chef” was a group of firehouse cooks who raised money for charity with the likes of risotto fritters and slow-roasted short ribs, but aspiring restaurateurs without the means to open their own places just yet are also signing up on theguestchef.net. The most successful chefs may be invited to take up residence permanently in one of Cameron’s other buildings. “I’m getting three plays out of this,” says the entrepreneur—not the least of which is the addition of a dynamic and exciting concept to the Oakland food scene.

#50 | Using your noodle

#49 | Eat a pita, feed a kid

#48 | Ask the staff chaplain

#47 | I’ll be calling you

#46 | Rolling in dough

#45 | Fried chicken flies the coop

#44 | A penny for your calories

#43 | Better than a lobster bib

#42 | Bending the bento

#41 | Billboard redux

#40 | Dining at the fountain of youth

#39 | Building a better box

#38 | Roll out the barrel

#37 | Mochi Madness

#36 | A toast to Belgium

#35 | Screening employees on the screen

#34 | An Olive Garden customer sat here

#33 | Setting the e-table

#32 | The buck strolls here

#31 | Gin game

#30 | Childhood revisited

#29 | Moveable feast

#28 | Certified gluten free

#27 | Buy a car, eat a meal

#26 | Locating the best Happy Hour

#25 | Local broadcast

#24 | Tabletop taps

#23 | Double the pleasure

#22 | The three Bs

#21 | Cocktails to amuse

#20 | Fans of the grape

#19 | Whole animal accessorizing

#18 | Translucent menus

#17 | Have oven will cater

#16 | Allergic interaction

#15 | Greener produce

#14 | Competing to win at weight loss

#13 | Space saver

#12 | Test kitchen=test market

#11 | Be my guest

#10 | Plug in and eat up

#9 | Rx for pilferers

#8 | Hands free—and clean

#7 | Some like it too hot

#6 | Chicken fried steak gets its day

#5 | The staff that reads together…

#4 | Twinkle toast

#3 | Stick with this

#2 | Stamp of approval

#1 | From seed to fork

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Be my guest

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