2686 Kitchen: Brunch Becomes an Artist's Canvas in Midtown Ventura

Ventura chef Jacky Bui is an artist and spices are her palette at Ventura’s 2686 Kitchen, named for its street address. The young executive chef is excited to expand the Midtown restaurant’s usual sandwich-and-pizza offerings to include a weekend brunch featuring bold, innovative flavors.

Bui, 27, who was previously a personal publicist, has only been a chef for four years, getting her start cooking professionally under the guidance of Chef Gabe Garcia at Tierra Sur at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard and the sous chef at the time, Eric Cancino.

“[Food] is a great way to tell personal stories. A lot of my memories revolved around food. It’s something I always wanted to pursue,” Bui says, adding that her former career didn’t fulfill her creative ambitions.

“At Tierra Sur, they really showed me so much about the culinary scene. They were doing so many methods four years ago that are just becoming popular now. They showed me the basic skills and how to go beyond that.”

In fact, “going beyond” and learning new skills might just be commonplace for this artist, who has been known to intern at different restaurants around California in her downtime and intends to continue these educational adventures.

With a focus on the abundant local produce available at farmers’ markets and local farms, Bui says her food reflects the diversity here. “Ventura County is full of so many cultures. We’ve become more food conscious. I always wanted to stay in Ventura and bring cuisines to people who normally would not have tried those things,” Bui says.

Partnerships with local growers are going to enable Bui to add menu items that can’t be found anywhere else. “I’m working closely with AJ Broccoli Sprouts, based in Ventura. They are going to be growing some custom sprouts for me,” Bui says. “I believe in locally sourced produce and respectful usage of animal proteins.”

Her style right now, she says, combines Middle Eastern and Argentinian flavors. “The Middle Eastern influence is going more toward earthy flavors like cumin, harissa, sumac and turmeric. It’s very spice forward. The Argentinian side uses a lot of greens and different types of meats and stews,” Bui says.

Along with pastry chef Anastashia Chavez, Bui is working to create combinations of both savory and sweet that are presented as pastries and breads during the brunch. “Anastashia bakes the biscuits we use for our eggs Benedict,” Bui says. “I really like that dish; it is visually eye-catching. I make the harissa in-house for the hollandaise so it is now a richer, brighter color.”

With a nod toward seasonally available foods, the initial brunch offerings also included grain bowls made with black rice, chickpeas, yams, broccoli, “pickled things” and poached eggs with a peppered tahini sauce. “I like to take familiar foods and reinvent them. Everyone does chilaquiles; I’m trying to change it up, offering a harissa chilaquiles with black beluga lentils and cilantro crema, instead,” Bui says.

Using local ingredients economically and ecologically is an emerging priority. “I have been using leftovers to make soup specials too,” she explains. “For example, our shakshuka base is perfect for becoming pozole verde. I just add bay leaves and chicken stock that’s made using our in-house-roasted rotisserie chicken.” With so many fresh ideas and loads of energy, Jacky Bui is definitely one to watch.

The 2686 Kitchen
2686 Loma Vista Rd., Ventura
805-643-7444; The2686.com