Earth Meets Ocean:
Modern comfort food from the Sonoma Coast

Foreword
My life long journey with food began on the east coast. Charles Mortimer, my grandfather, was a true pioneer in the food manufacturing industry, but my food adventure has always followed a different map. At a young age I learned to love a great meal and the process by which it was attained. While enjoying the dining aspect, service and trying new flavors my thoughts would always wander to where the ingredients came from. What we were enjoying at the table never had as much an impact as picking and shelling peas with my grandmother earlier that afternoon.

    In the subsequent decades to those early food memories I found myself perpetually moving west. Across the fertile plains of the Rocky Mountains I learned of the fruitful bounties of the rich, irrigated soils. I found great respect for the majestic animals that roamed the monochromatic hills and boned many trout from the cool, clear streams. All wonderful, yet still there existed an incognizant limit to my culinary dreams and I always longed for a place where you didn't have to perpetually out-think the food as a cook. 

    In what amounted to an almost unexplainable fervor in a breathless week's time as if irresistibly pulled by a cosmic magnet my family headed west to lands end in the greatest food continent on the blue planet. It was the blue I'd been missing, teaming with life and crying out to be married with the fruits of the farmer's labors. The sense of place with which the wine epitomizes the food on the Sonoma Coast is a combination rarely experienced with such seamlessness. It is all so clear sitting on the coast at Timber Cove with the fertile, mineral rich soils behind me and ocean stirring before me...it's time to capture Earth and ocean in a pan and use all the respect of a lifetime with food and capture it on a plate.

Rene Jakushak, a Northern California resident since 1995, has permanently joined the team at Nectar Restaurant as Executive Chef.  As a young boy Rene often helped his mother create authentic German dishes with a California twist in their family kitchen, and has followed that tradition by creating a fresh and delicious menu with a focus on local and sustainable foods at Nectar Restaurant. 

Rene grew up in Santa Barbara, California, and at 16 years old was working in the kitchens at the local university, cooking for faculty and students there.  He enrolled in the Hotel Management program at the local City College, famous for its classroom views of the Pacific, and in his spare time continued cooking professionally.  By 18 he was in charge of the kitchen at a popular local eatery, and cooking quickly became more important than academics.  He left both to complete his Culinary Arts training at the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, OR., graduating in 1993.  He brought with him to Oregon his high school sweetheart, and they married in 1999.   

Chef Tison returns to Northern California to join the celebrated Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and Spa from Fairmont sister property, New York's famed  Plaza Hotel.

A 15- year veteran and the youngest appointed Executive Chef of the legendary Plaza, Tison's nouvelle cuisine has earned extensive critical acclaim. During his tenure in New York, he captured a number of awards including FOOD ARTS "Silver Spoon", a gold medal at the NY International Food Show Exposition and first prize at the NYC Hotel & Motel Culinary Olympics.

Chef Tison trained in the kitchens of several of France's legendary master chefs including Bernard Waterlot, Roger Verge, Michel Guerard and Alain Chapel. Under their watchful tutelage, Chef Tison developed and refined his own unique style. "My cooking is heavily influenced by my strong classical background and the use of fresh American products."

Antonio Ghilarducci, the son of owners Mike and Gia Ghilarducci will be permanently joining the team at the Depot Hotel as Executive Chef.  As a young boy Antonio often helped his father in the kitchen and often returned over the years to work special functions.

Antonio graduated high school in 2000 from Justin-Siena in Napa and moved to San Jose to study at San Jose State University.  Before long, Antonio began working in the kitchens at the university, cooking for faculty and students there.  Cooking quickly became more important than academics and he left both to study at San Francisco City College in the Culinary Arts Department.  This is the oldest cooking school on the West Coast and the same school that his father attended thirty years earlier.  He graduated among the top five in his class in 2002 and obtained his Associates Degree in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Studies.

From Farm to Table

"I want to help people discover their unique preferences in fine wines so they become their own experts," says Jeff Cox, author and owner of From Farm to Table.

Jeff Cox has a very colorful background in wine and food, especially when it comes to writing. During his time as managing editor of Organic Gardening magazine in the 1970s, Jeff planted a vineyard on his property, learning to grow the vines, prune them, harvest the grapes, and make wine. In 1983, he put this hard-won information into a book, From Vines to Wines, that has become the standard work on the subject of do-it-yourself winemaking - from planting the grapes to aging the wine. It sold well over 100,000 copies and continues to sell well today.

Sondra Bernstein:

Just like a plump ripe fig, the girl & the fig food is fresh, healthy, and bursting with flavor. With a seasonal menu featuring garden vegetables, herbs, and an abundance of creativity, the rustic Provençal-inspired cuisine allows earth's true and natural flavors to shine.

Janine Falvo's passion for food stems from a family deeply rooted in culinary tradition. Today she enjoys being the Chef de Cuisine of Carneros Bistro & Wine Bar for The Lodge at Sonoma. Raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, her childhood years were filled with memories of berry picking, seasonal harvest canning and celebratory holiday feasts. After years of showcasing her culinary prowess to her family and friends at such gatherings, she decided to hone her skills and make a career out of her life long passion.

Catherine Bergen:

Over the past six years Catherine Bergen local culinary entrepreneur and founder of Made In Napa Valley®, has brought locals and visitors to a new level of cooking and entertaining with her premium-quality pantry foods inspired by the abundance and beauty of the Napa Valley.

She has developed over 70 intensely flavored gourmet food products which are made in small batches using the very best, all-natural ingredients. This attention to quality and freshness helped Made In Napa Valley win the National Association for The Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) 2004 Outstanding Product Line award, the most coveted in the specialty food business; as well as ongoing press accolades and two listings on the coveted "O" list in Oprah Winfrey's O Magazine.

 

Leslie Rudd: Entrepreneur with the Heart of Napa Valley

Leslie Rudd is an entrepreneur and philanthropist with a real heart for the Napa Valley. Already a proprietor of Dean & DeLuca, Rudd Winery, Edge Hill Estate, PRESS restaurant, and Distillery 209, he recently adopted the historic Oakville Grocery in an effort to restore the beloved destination for wine country visitors.