Ortega himself has had training in a variety of styles and cuisines.
“If you really like it and you like to cook, you learn much quicker,” Ortega said. “Mine’s all school-of-hard-knocks.”
Ortega has been with Bay 101 since 1994 and worked previously in Silicon Valley. He heads a kitchen staff of 110, 21 of whom are cooks, and they serve nearly 400 players during the World Poker Tournament. The casino itself has a staff of over 700.
“When the Matrix opened [across the street], they all went there and tried it out, and they all came back,” Ortega says. “They said, your food’s better, service is better, prices are better.”
Bay 101 opened in 1993 after purchasing the licensing from Sutter’s Place, which their in-house restaurant is now named after.
Sutter’s Place, established in the 1940s by Jan and Joseph Sutter, was a small restaurant, tavern, and card room. When Caltrans made plans to widen Highway 237 in 1991, Sutter’s Place made its move to Silicon Valley.
