Orange County Business Journal, CA
June 3 2007

Culinary Child

Restaurant Owner Followed Idol’s Footsteps; Expanded With Bakery,
Cafe, More Locations

By Jessica C. Lee

In late 2001, Zov Karamardian’s dream came true.

Karamardian, owner of Zov’s Bistro, Bakery and Cafe in Tustin, hosted
a culinary concert with her idol, the late Julia Child, and famed
chef Emeril Lagasse, at her restaurant.

It was Child who inspired Karamardian to enter the culinary world.

Karamardian was one of five women honored at the Business Journal’s
13th annual Women in Business Award luncheon at the Hyatt Regency
Irvine on May 24.

What started out as a small, 1,500-square-foot cafe and bakery in the
1980s has grown to a 13,000-square-foot restaurant that includes
Zov’s Bistro, Zov’s Cafe and Bakery and a private banquet room.

Earlier this year, Karamardian opened a 3,200-square-foot restaurant
in Newport Coast. She said she plans to open another in Irvine in
November. She declined to disclose yearly sales for the business.

Her family – husband Gary, son Armen and daughter Taleene – helps run the
restaurants. She credits them for her accomplishments.

`I love working with my family,’ she said. `Each person does their
own thing. It’s harmonious.’

As a kid, Karamardian spent her afternoons watching and mimicking
Child – a cook, author and TV personality known for introducing French
cuisine to America – as she prepared this and that dish.

Mixing, marinating and baking with her idol, Karamardian, originally
from Israel, tattooed Child’s instructions into her brain along with
all of the Armenian family recipes she’s memorized since emigrating
from the Middle East to San Francisco in 1959.

She said she found solace in watching `The Julia Child Show.’ It made
assimilating to American culture easier, Karamardian said.

The culinary concert celebration wasn’t the last time Karamardian and
Child connected. They were friends the last 10 years of Child’s life
until she died in 2004, according to Karamardian.

`Cooking with Julia Child was incredible. She was such a wonderful
woman,’ she said. `I always watched Julia Child on television when I
was in high school and every day until she was off the air. She was
really the one (who taught) me how to cook.’

Karamardian, who started Zov’s Bistro, Bakery and Cafe in 1987, began
getting involved in national culinary groups.

It was through networking that she finally got to meet Child, who
eventually became her mentor, Karamardian said. Her memories with
Child are unforgettable, she said.

Karamardian’s been recognized with the Angel Award from the James
Beard Foundation in 2002. Her bakery’s been named one of the `Best
Bakeries in Southern California’ by Gourmet Magazine in 2001 and
`Best Bakery in America’ by the Food Network in 2004.

Such recognition has been surreal, Karamardian said. But she’s had
her share of challenges.

Karamardian started her business from scratch. She never went to
culinary school or worked in a restaurant, she said. Not to mention
she didn’t have any experience running a business, Karamardian said.

`Everything I have done for this restaurant has been from the school
of hard knocks,’ she said. `This whole business has been a great
journey. The success I have now is astonishing because the odds are
against you when you start. The only thing that made the difference
was passion. Passion is what drove me. It still drives me.’

For years, Zov’s was open Tuesday through Saturday. Now her two
restaurants serve breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner seven days a
week. She employs nearly 200 people and serves up to 1,200 customers
a day, she said.

Karamardian’s restaurants specialize in Middle Eastern and
Mediterranean comfort foods. Dishes include roasted rack of lamb with
mashed potatoes, baba ghanouj (pureed roasted eggplant with tahini,
lemon and olive oil), seafood and wild rice stuffed grape leaves and
tabouleh – a salad made of bulgar wheat, parsley, tomatoes and
cucumbers.

All of Zov’s meals are made from scratch with fresh produce, meats,
grains, seafood and olive oil, she said.

`The food here is comforting and it’s really balanced,’ she said.

Karamardian’s acclaimed culinary style has led her to teach cooking
classes at her restaurant and at Sur La Table in Newport Beach. It’s
even pushed her to self publish a cookbook in 2005, `Zov: Recipes and
Memories from the Heart,’ which is in its second printing.

Karamardian said she’s writing another cookbook about brunch. She
said she’s also focused on growing her two latest restaurants and
launching more cooking classes and speaker events.

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