Sustainability

How easy is it to start a successful restaurant? A friend of mine who pioneered fine dining in Old Pasadena shared with me a this Persian proverb: "The first hundred years are the hardest."

What if you set out not only to make your customers happy, but to be a model for serving delicious, healthy, local food?

That's the challenge for Main Course California, a brand new Ventura business tucked into a business park on Donlon behind the Main Street Target.

Founders Rachel Main and Robert Jacobi boast superb credentials. Rachel has been an executive chef to a billionaire, founded a private high school culinary program and honed her skills in the kitchens of prestigious restaurants. Robert is certified in Hospitality Management by the legendary Le Cordon Bleu, living and working in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Greece, with an impressive list of hotels and restaurants on his resume.

Yet their goals are down to earth: serve food with all the flavor and environmental appeal of this slice of paradise we call Ventura County. Right now, Main Course California is a growing catering and modest take-out operation with maybe four tables all told. But in a tough economy, they are doing what is so desperately needed, putting people to work providing long-term value.

As Mayor Weir noted in this year's State of the City talk, we all "must look beyond our reduced 'financial portfolio' to an expanded 'life portfolio' of stronger family, friends, business and government relationships." It turns out that the churning drive to meet Wall Street's quarterly expectations produced a heady, but phony prosperity.

It was not sustainable.

Now more and more individuals, families, businesses and governments are digging in. No more junk bonds or junk food. Turning to back yard gardens, going to Farmer's Markets, appreciating the flavors produced by local soils and our local seasons.

There will always be glitz and froth and get rich quick schemes -- overnight sensations that make a big splash and then fizzle. But whether it is launching business or living a meaningful life, there really are no shortcuts. And there are no guarantees the world will reward you with wealth and recognition. Virtues like hard work, rock solid values and a generous heart are their own reward.