Rodney Worth, The Little Pear

Rodney Worth left a career in the semiconductor industry to follow his dream to work as a chef.

While in culinary school at Diablo Valley College, Worth cooked at Wente Vineyards and then at Bizou (now Coco 500) in San Francisco.

He opened The Peasant and the Pear, the peasant for the rustic touch in the food and the pear for Bishop Ranch's history as a pear orchard, six years ago ( it was first a small cafe in San Ramon and later moved to its current location in downtown Danville).

The restaurant has a "cult following," says Worth, serving the highest quality fresh produce, seafood from the Monterey Bay, bread delivered daily and even doing their own butchering.

Following the trend of more and more businesses moving into Blackhawk Plaza, Worth is opening The Little Pear on July 6. The cafe with a European feel will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner, with some items from the Danville restaurant's lunch menu, seating about 65 people.

I sat down with Worth—who lives in Danville with his wife Natalie and their three kids, Zachary, 6, Zoe, 4 and Zane, 1— to talk about food, his new business venture and life in Danville.

Danville Patch: Why did you decide to pursue your career as a chef?

Worth: My dad worked at Safeway and my mom was a stay at home mom and cooked every day. My mom was a really good cook, so food was always an integral part of our life. It was something I really was into but I didn't know anyone who was a chef. So I didn't become a chef right away. One day I just said, 'I want to go to culinary school." Everybody thought I was crazy.

Danville Patch: Why do you think the Peasant and the Pear has been so successful?

Worth: I love sandwiches and I love simple food—I just have my own twist. Two months into it we were doing 150 lunches a day in a 20 seat restaurant. We just buy the highest quality ingredients and don't do a lot to them. We give back to the community. We donate to the schools with chef's tables for the auctions. We take care of the community. We know who takes care of us, so we take care of them.

Danville Patch: Why did you decide to open The Little Pear?

Worth: You can only eat a steak every once in a while. We wanted to have a nice little bistro that you could go to wearing anything you wanted, bring your kids and come in and get something casual, but good. We'd go to the movies with our kids and we'd always go to Walnut Creek, because there was nowhere to eat up here. So we're just trying to do something casual but still good organic and high quality and at a cheaper price point.

Danville Patch: Why did you pick Blackhawk Plaza for your new location?

Worth: I think people needed this and in the last  year I've been seeing a serious increase of people up here with the stores and Laurus and Coa on the weekends are packed. I think they're really trying to get new stores in here.

Danville Patch: What do you like about living in Danville?

Worth: Danville is the best place to live. Everybody here is so nice and it's just a great place. It's beautiful. There are trails everywhere.

Samples from the menu:

Salads, sandwiches, soups, burgers, quiche of the day, pasta of the day, breakfast dishes and more. Full espresso bar serving Lavazza coffee.

Kids' menu: Grilled cheese, chicken strips, corn dog, salad, fruit. Steak Frites filet mignon kebab with fries.

Starters: Deviled eggs, pear quesadilla, bruschetta.

Danville Chicken Sandwich: Chicken, pear and dijon compote, Double-cream brie on baguette. Served with fries or salad.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Cabernet Barbeque sauce and coleslaw

Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwich: Smoked chicken, aioli, pecans, dried cherries and shallots on berry wheat bread. Served with fries or salad

The Little Pear is located at 3407 Blackhawk Plaza Circle, next to Anthropologie and Coa. Call for more info 925 736-4800. They will be open 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week, starting Tuesday, July 6, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner (dinner is the same as the lunch menu).