“When her assistant rang me and told me who she was calling for, I didn’t believe it. Her decision to switch careers into the food world proved to be her smartest move yet: Shortly after earning her stripes at spots like the restaurant at the Claremont Club and Spa, she received a call one day from author Alice Walker’s personal assistant. “What can I say? I have a long, long history and I’ve reinvented myself 1,000 times,” she said. “I wanted a job that dealt with compassion and humanity,” she says.įrom there she caught the big food wave of the early aughts, driven by telegenic chefs like Emeril Lagasse, and decided to shift gears into the culinary arts. After moving to the Golden State, McGowan obtained yet another degree, this time at San Francisco State University where she received clinical psychology training to counsel disturbed and at-risk children.

After graduating from FIT, she worked as a regional sales representative at Levi Strauss, with territories in Iowa and Illinois. McGowan’s culinary career trajectory isn’t typical by any means: Before honing her craft at the California Culinary Academy and Le Cordon Bleu San Francisco, she completed a degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology. “I come from a family made up not only of the Caribbean, from my mother’s side, but a family that taught me everything from the best of Southern, Mexican, and South American cooking, just to name a few,” she said with a still-perceptible Brooklyn accent. Verna McGowan’s new restaurant, Calypso Rose Kitchen, is set to open in Emeryville’s Public Market this summer. Growing up, she was fed a melange of Caribbean and Southern U.S. McGowan’s time working for The Color Purple scribe helped further shape McGowan’s gastronomic point of view, which began as a child in New York City. “She’s an incredible human being to think of all of those things, from selecting where your oils come from to the humane treatment of the farmers picking your produce.” McGowan will apply those learnings at her new restaurant, Calypso Rose Kitchen, which will open in Emeryville this summer. “I didn’t go in there for a lesson, but I sure got one,” said Verna McGowan, reflecting on her tenure as personal chef to Pulitzer Prize-winning author and former Berkeley staple, Alice Walker, who taught the chef about cautiousness and care when it comes to sourcing ingredients. Nosh’s original report on Calypso Rose, which was published on March 29, is below:

Thursday through Sunday, and they hope to expand to lunchtime hours starting on Sept. The spot, which will serve a limited menu of Caribbean dishes like Guyanese oxtail pepper pot with yellow rice and plantains, has opened for a few test runs since the beginning of the month, a spokesperson for the market confirmed, but Saturday marks its official adoption of regular service. 20 inside Emeryville Public Market (5959 Shellmound St, Emeryville). After several months of delays, Verna McGowan’s new restaurant, Calypso Rose Kitchen, will open with regular hours on Saturday Aug.

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