By Cheri March

Colfax Record Correspondent

Adam Ornellas is finally practicing what he preaches.

One year ago, the professional chef was dreaming of farm-to-table cooking from the concrete jungle kitchen of an upscale Silicon Valley hotel.

With high-pressure jobs, he and his wife, Teresa, had little time to spend with their three children.

Today, Adam Ornellas is crafting his signature simple comfort food as executive chef and owner of The Rustic Table, a Spanish-Italian fusion eatery that opened in the new Sierra Woods Lodge and Café in Emigrant Gap in September.

Pasta for the Mexican linguica ravioli is made from scratch with fresh eggs (soon to come the lodge’s own flock), meat for braised rabbit with cheesy polenta is purchased from Auburn-based Longhorn Meat Co. and vegetables for the French cassoulet are grown on a certified-organic Loomis farm.

Only the bread is baked offsite — at nearby Truckee Sourdough Company.

Daughter Christina, 17, is learning the ropes of the business ownership by waiting tables while her siblings, A.J., 13, and Aaliyah, 6, do homework and watch cartoons in the lobby.

“This has been my dream since I was 10,” Adam Ornellas said. “I truly feel that we’re getting back to the old American way of building a family-owned business with our own two hands.”

It’s a new beginning for both the family and the lodge, which sat vacant for nearly a decade before it was purchased by developers Michael and Stephanie Woods.

Two years later, it has been transformed into a family-friendly mountain resort with rustic, yet comfy accommodations, panoramic views of a tree-lined meadow and access to outdoor recreation like the 30-foot waterfall just a short hike from one of the 14 rooms.

When the Woods stumbled upon Adam’s resume online, they knew his culinary philosophy made him the perfect match for their venture. They just had to convince him.

“Our first thought was that it was really beautiful, but we were a little hesitant because it was so secluded,” Teresa said. “We wanted to make sure it would attract business. But I believe in my husband’s cooking 800 percent and I knew if we just got people in the door, they would return.”

Their very first customer, Colfax business owner Terry Murphy, proved Teresa right.

“I love cooking and I so appreciate good food,” said Murphy, owner of Invision Salon. “(Adam’s) style of cooking is like nothing I’ve ever had in this area. And it’s very affordable.”

Not only has Murphy returned again and again, but she’s sent her two teenage children to work at The Rustic Table two nights a week.

Upon learning Murphy’s son, 15-year-old Brennan, couldn’t stand cheesecake,

Adam Ornellas brought him a spoonful of his lighter-than-air Italian cherry version – his mother’s recipe.

One taste and Brennan was a convert, Murphy said.

“Now every night that he washes the dishes, he has to have some cheesecake,” she laughed.

Turning visitors like Murphy into family is all part of the Ornellas philosophy.

Guests are invited to borrow a DVD for their room, play board games in the lobby or otherwise kick back and relax.

The casual attitude is also reflected in the reasonable menu prices.

“I want people to have the opportunity for a very good, fresh, four-star meal for what they might spend at Sizzler or TGI Friday’s,” Adam Ornellas said.

And guests can knock a bit more off the bill with the Coat for Soup program.

In exchange for a winter coat, diners receive a free bowl of soup or $5 off a meal.

Coats will be donated to local shelters and churches.

It’s a little way of saying thanks to the community that’s letting a family live out their dream.

“Our friends think we’re nuts to open a restaurant in this economy,” Ornellas said. “But in my gut, I know this is the right time to do it. Sometimes bad economic times are the best time to take a risk. What do I have to lose? Not only am I with my family, but I get to cook them breakfast in the morning.”

The Rustic Table is located at 43440 Laing Road.

For more information, call 389-8900 or go online to sierrawoodslodge.com.