Literally that is (the headline). Google's executive chef Charlie Ayers is leaving the company. The former chef for the Grateful Dead is about to launch a restaurant chain in Silicon Valley that focuses on healthy food.

Ayers lead a team of about 80 chefs at the search giant. He and his team are credited with Google's success as much as the original search algorithm. The chef took the corporate meal to a new level with his Arabian squash casserole and crab mole tamalon.

Free or subsidised meals are part of the Silicon Valley mythology as much as the venture capital investors on Sand Hill Road. Since young technology companies are mostly staffed by single 30-something year olds, providing free meals is a proven way to get people to work overtime.

18 May 2005