The California Cookbook with Rockland Roots

Executive Chef Katie Reicher’s love for food sprouted in her New City backyard. Her mother, Nadine Schneider, was and is a dedicated gardener. The two would spend long afternoons harvesting from the garden and planning their meals based on what was available that season, leading Reicher to blend memories of family, seasons, and tradition all together into one beautiful stew. After five years of being the Executive Chef at the Greens restaurant in San Francisco and with a brand new cookbook published, Reicher looked back at how her East Coast upbringing has impacted her work.

Reicher’s family is a mix of Italian, Ukrainian and Jewish. “I won’t explain what that feels like. I bet you could just guess,” laughed Reicher. A third generation American, Chef Reicher told the RCT that her family’s cultures and traditions were always shared through food. She credits her mother and her grandmother for infusing her memories with the traditions of good food and good times. Reicher remembered writing out menus for family Thanksgivings, and the seasons being tightly knit with memories of barbecues, baked goods, Italian food, and pierogies. 

On a quick visit from her now-home of California, Reicher sat down with the RCT at a cozy table at local hotspot Art Cafe (a must for Reicher every time she visits) to talk about her three year long journey to publishing her first cookbook and how she takes care to now infuse her meals with that similar sense of nostalgia. “My style of cooking is very homey. I want to feel comfort and nostalgia…and you can do that with vegetables,” said Reicher.

Greens is one of the first vegetarian restaurants in America. The restaurant has maintained all female leadership since its inception in 1979, an especially astounding fact since as recently as 2022 the demographics of chefs and head cooks lean predominantly male, with 77.4% being men and 22.6% being female. 

When Reicher took the reins in 2020, she was charged with not only the legacy of Greens, but with redefining the restaurant under the strains of a pandemic. “I tried to revolutionize this menu by expanding our global reach, being a little bit more diverse and inclusive on the menu. Now, we have dishes from Iran to Korea to Ukraine,” said Reicher. “We’re trying to be true to the cuisine. We’re not interpreting it too much, we’re trying to make it as authentic as possible.”

With about half the menu being changed every month, Reicher has plenty of room to reach to the far corners of the world to gain inspiration. She also remains in constant communication with the local farmers to determine what is available and what produce is the freshest of the season. 

Reicher admitted to the use of a color-coded Excel spreadsheet to help her keep on top of the communications around when produce comes into season and to make sure that they are flexing their muscles in a variety of countries. “We might be particularly inspired by Africa, but we can’t have the entire menu being Moroccan… It helps us just to organize, make sure we’re using every veggie for the season,” said Reicher, Schneider beaming next to her.

According to Reicher, one of the benefits of this update has been seeing an influx of younger generations attending the restaurant. This comes alongside the joy of introducing the legacy patrons to new cuisines. 

Picking up a cookbook written by an executive chef may seem daunting at first, but Reicher assures nervous cooks that all of the recipes are beginner friendly, outlining how over the three year process she worked diligently with her editor to unlearn kitchen slang and rework how to clearly explain recipes step-by-step to even the most beginner cook. One tip Reicher wants to share? “Don’t be alarmed by half a cup of oil. Trust me, you’re cooking vegetables. You have to add the fat yourself because veggies just don’t have it.” These kind of insider tips are exactly what cooking-curious readers can find in Seasons of Greens. 

Wondering where to start? Begin with one of Reicher’s favorite best-seller recipes for her Green Goddess hummus. All you need is a few ingredients and a food processor and you’re done!

Reicher hopes that readers will come away with a better understanding and appreciation of the veggies she loves so much.“It’s about celebrating the vegetables. If you get the best, freshest things from your local farmers, you don’t really have to do much to make outstanding dishes with outstanding veggies.”

 As for the future, there are whispers of there being even more Greens locations around the country to help spread that love even further. For now, however, Reicher’s cookbook remains a fabulous addition to any cook’s kitchen, novice or not. Erin Scott has done phenomenal work with the food photography, each photograph all but begging to be framed on your kitchen wall. Do yourself a favor and pick up the delightfully designed “Seasons of Greens”  at Big Red Books in Nyack. However, you will have to move quickly – according to the local indie book shop, Reicher’s cookbook has already sold out once. Big Red Books does have the ability to order books from publishing warehouses. Call 845-875-7707 to check ahead of time.