Who: Chef Mani Niall hosts a birthday dinner in honor of Michael
Jackson, with surprise guests!
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, August 29th.
Where: Sweet Bar Bakery, 2355 Broadway, Oakland, CA
As a teenager and
devout Michael Jackson Fan, I made a pilgrimage to his favorite hangouts, the
Golden Temple vegetarian restaurant in Hollywood, CA. One blazing summer day, my best friend and I caught several busses just to
catch a glimpse of the exotic building with the gleaming pointed dome where our
idol regularly dined, but we never went in. Ironically, decades later, I had
the privilege of meeting Mani Niall, who studied under chef Akasha Richmond at
the Golden Temple, and later became Michael Jackson’s private chef during the
time he was recording his iconic “Thriller” album in the early eighties.
I spoke with Niall
during the grand opening of his Sweet Bar Bakery (located in downtown Oakland,
a few blocks from the historic Paramount Theatre) in December as the hands on
chef waited on customers and pulled his delicious creations from the oven.
Niall shared fond and poignant memories of Jackson, who would have turned 55 this
year.
In
honor of the King of Pop’s birthday, Niall will host a birthday dinner at the
Sweet Bar Bakery, featuring a variety of Jackson’s favorite entrees and
desserts on Thursday August 29, creating magic with his food as Jackson did
with his music.
Shelah Moody: As an award winning chef to the stars, what made you
decide to open a bakery in the Bay Area?
Mani Niall: Well, I owned a bakery in Los Angeles for many years, and
after moving to the Bay Area, I took a break from that world. But in the back
of my mind, I wanted to own my own bakery again. I sold the bakery in LA to my
partners, and it kept going for about another 10 years. If you open a good
bakery in the right neighborhood, it has a life. I think bakeries are less
competitive than restaurants. Bakeries are very heart and soul; they are very
neighborhood. I was always on the lookout for finding the right place at the
right time.
SM: When and how did you meet Michael Jackson?
MN: I was working at a little restaurant (the Golden Temple) in
Hollywood, where Michael was eating when he was recording “Thriller.” He really
liked the food. I came to work one day and the manager told me that Michael
Jackson had been eating there and he loved the food and he wanted food brought
to the studio. Since we were launching a catering department, the job fell in
my lap. The next thing I knew, I was bringing food to the studio, and Michael
would still come into the restaurant once in a while. When I would bring food
to the studio, I would bring food to Michael and Quincy Jones and one day, Paul
McCartney. I think Michael was very comfortable with me. It was an easy fit, an
easy connection. He liked my food, and I wasn’t pushing it in his face. I was
very comfortable feeding Michael and his guests, whether they were celebrities
or his friends from his church. From
there, Michael asked me to do more and more catering.
SM: Tell us about some of Michael Jackson’s favorite foods.
MN: Spicy, New Mexican enchiladas. That was a dish that we had on our
menu that he loved. Occasionally, we did Moroccan shish kabobs. We did a
vegetarian version of a Chinese chicken salad with tofu and roasted Portobello
mushrooms, almonds and cashews and a miso lime dressing—very similar to
something that we make here at Sweet Bar. Michael had a big sweet tooth! He
liked his spicy ethnic foods and he liked his desserts. His favorite desserts
were ice cream, sweet potato pie and cookies. I used to make these maple,
almond and pecan shortbreads that we called “ookies.” Michael’s bodyguards
teased him; here was no sugar or white flour, so they weren’t
cookies, they were “ookies.”
SM: When was the last time that you saw Michael Jackson?
MN: Let me tell you the story--it is really amazing. I hadn’t worked for
Michael for a couple of years. I used to have a long beard and long hair and I
had shaved it all off. One of Michael’s bodyguards recognized me at a concert
on the “Bad” tour. The bodyguard didn’t recognize me at first, but when he
realized who I was, he yanked me out of the audience and we went backstage and
he brought me right to Michael. Michael didn’t recognize me, and his bodyguard
started laughing, and said, “Michael, this is Mani!” Michael ran his hand over
my chin and said, “your beard is gone, your face is so smooth!” Michael gave me
a big hug and said “it’s so good to see you!” We chatted for a minute. Then,
Michael ran onto the stage, because the concert had started. I floated back to
my seat, feeling like a million bucks!
I got to see Michael performing on his own. When I was working with him,
he was with his brothers on the “Victory” tour. This was Michael, doing
Michael’s music, with his dancers, doing the video (routines) from
“Thriller” “Beat it” and “Smooth
Criminal.” I was on cloud nine. I had that connection with him backstage; that
was the last moment.
SM: What do you think of the Michael Jackson fan community in the Bay
Area?
MN: They are amazing! They are insane in a wonderful way! They’ve
created these flash mobs, and they have the dances down to the very last moves.
It’s nice that they are not just motivated by Michael; they are motivated to
learn and share and bring that joy.
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