Even before Mr. Ayers realized that his ambition was to go into business for himself, he said he was always conscious of the relationships he was building with his cafeteria patrons and the suppliers and vendors, which he plans to use as crucial help getting his venture off the ground.

A master chef in Rhode Island told him years ago that networking was the most important thing in the restaurant business, Mr. Ayers recalled. "He said, 'You never know when that milkman is going to own his own dairy and be in the position to give you a price break."'

Mr. Ayers has worked at expensive restaurants and middle-brow chains, cooked privately for families and ran the prepared foods department at a Whole Foods Market. But it is his Google friends -- lawyers, business development professionals, engineers and financial experts -- that he expects to draw on most of all.

Born in Chicago and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Mr. Ayers had a varied résumé even before he started cooking for Google. His love of music led to behind-the-scenes cooking jobs at various music festivals, and Google says on its Web site that Mr. Ayers formerly cooked for members of the Grateful Dead. (It was after Jerry Garcia's death, when the band dissolved, Mr. Ayers said.)

Dressed in flip-flops and cargo shorts, Mr. Ayers recently sat in the coffee bar of a Whole Foods Market near his home in Redwood City here, spinning his vision for his new restaurant, called Calafia (based on a Mexican myth from which the state of California draws its name). He said his inspiration came in equal parts from Whole Foods, McDonald's and Starbucks. He is looking for about 8,000 square feet of space in high-priced downtown Palo Alto, where other restaurants include Wolfgang Puck's Spago and the Cheesecake Factory.

Mr. Ayers has invested $100,000 of his own money for start-up costs, and expects to raise $4 million from some former Google employees and private equity investment groups. Another friend, a former doctor, is helping him write the business plan.

"Everything is handshakes at this point," Mr. Ayers said of the possible financial arrangements. "My lawyer is looking at the paperwork and trying to figure out who's going to give me the best deal and allow me to have the most control." None of the would-be financial backers were willing to be identified in print.