Golden State of Mind

[Corey Voiceover] Well, as a chef, I think that

working in California is a dream in some ways.

You're so close to your products,

and you can see your ingredients changing

throughout the week.

And you can visit the places where your products come from.

When you're having oysters at Hog Island,

that can be a very exclusive experience,

and I think cuisine is like that too.

There's subtlety.

In some ways, your mind is always working,

looking for inspiration,

and for me certainly, I think I can apply

that kind of visual impact directly to what I'm doing.

I don't think that as a chef I have to be inspired

just by the products that are grown

or by things that you can consume.

You have to stay aware of your surroundings.

It connects you to the land and nature

in a metaphysical sense,

where you really feel like you're just

coexisting with all the natural elements around you.

That's something that I discovered or learned

when I moved to California.

For example, to understand In Situ,

you have to think about it in the context of the museum,

this place where you can go and try something

you may never have had an opportunity

to do otherwise unless In Situ was there.

And that, to me, is very much like a museum,

where you can experience these great works of art,

and if that institution didn't exist,

you might not ever get to experience those things.

At benu, we have a team of 40 people.

We work all day to try to provide an experience

that is very unique to this one restaurant.

The kind of luxury I like to indulge in

can be done in a very subtle way,

reminding you of where you are just at a really high level.