The Life Aromatic with Brian Trykar, Executive Chef and Bill Murray Superfan

“There are two types of people in this world: Those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don’t.”
– Bill Murray as Bob Wiley in What About Bob?

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Specialty Venue PR Manager Laura Braley and executive Chef Brian Trykar at the Bill Murray art show

Brian Trykar, the executive chef at a corporate Bon Appétit café in Rancho Cordova, is in fact a Neil Diamond fan. He is also a big fan of the actor Bill Murray. So much so that when a Bill Murray-themed art show was announced in San Francisco, he jumped on the opportunity to get involved in the best way he knew how — by cooking.

The exclusive one-night-only art show happened not long ago at Public Works, an event space located in the Mission district of San Francisco. Dressed as a character from The Life Aquatic, Brian served up a highly creative menu for guests of bite-size dishes inspired by some of his favorite Bill Murray movies. It was hugely popular with the crowd — almost too popular, as his table was quickly swarmed with fans (like me) who ate everything he had to offer within the first hour of the show beginning!

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Brian’s Murray Bites

Highlights from Brian’s Bill Murray-themed menu:

  1. Exploding Varmint: Jerked Beef topped with popping candy

  1. Salad of Broken Flowers: Edible Flowers, micro greens, Point Reyes bleu cheese with sweet but sour vinaigrette

  1. Dynamite Jaguar Shark: Beet- and Citrus-Cured Passmore Ranch Catfish Sashimi, “blown up” with dynamite sauce

  1. Punxsutawney Phil and Will: Surf and Turf bacon and ahi tartar

  1. Baby Ruth and Stay Puft Brûlée: Baby Ruth, fleur de sel and Stay Puft marshmallow brûlée

Can you guess which Murray movie inspired each of them? Answers here.