Category: Chef 2019

National GOOD FOOD award recipient, Chef Jeffry Ross, is the executive chocolatier and co-owner of BACI Chocolatier. Jeffry is a graduate of Ecole Chocolat in San Francisco, and honed many of his culinary skills while living in Europe before settling in Sonoma County. Jeffry has appeared on KSRO’s “At the Table with Clark Wolf” and was recently a judge at the 17th annual Wine Country Chefs of Tomorrow.
Jeffry opened his first chocolate production kitchen in 2015. Since then, Jeffry has won several national titles for his handcrafted, artisan chocolate. In 2018, Jeffry received his first GOOD FOOD award from Chef Alice Waters, Executive Chef, founder and owner of Chez Panisse restaurant. Recently crowned “2019 BEST Chocolatiers and Confectioners in America,” it would be no exaggeration to say that Sonoma County has become home to one of the most talented chocolatiers in the Bay Area. When developing his artisan recipes, Jeffry’s focus is on our regional, Sonoma County identity. Appropriately, BACI Chocolatier’s entire collection of award-winning confections are handcrafted in small batches, using only the finest quality, seasonal materials, meticulously sourced from small, local farms and independent producers.
 
Jeffry’s passion for fine chocolates brought him from Europe to Sonoma County, where years of culinary R&D consistently earns him top accolades and recognition. BACI confections can be found at select Bay Area wineries, boutiques, gourmet grocers, and from their online store. BACI Chocolatier is proud to curate a collection of personalized, luxury chocolates for corporate clients, weddings, events, catering, as well as individual gift giving.

Taylor Lane’s Certified Organic and Fair Trade coffees have been roasted locally since 1993. Come enjoy some Sonoma County hospitality at our coffee bar, located in The Barlow marketplace in charming downtown Sebastopol, and be sure to follow us at @brewtaylorlane.
www.taylorlane.com

Michael had a passion for food service from a young age. Michael attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco where he then began his career at the Michelin starred restaurant Acquerello and then headed to Healdsburg as Sous Chef at Restaurant SCOPA. It was his role as Sous Chef with E&J Gallo that brought together his knowledge of food, local farms, and wine. This year, Michael became the Executive Chef at The Grove Café at Redwood Credit Union.

In 1997, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith opened Cowgirl Creamery in Point Reyes Station, a picturesque postage-stamp-of-a-town on the coast about an hour north of San Francisco. They started with an old barn, made it beautiful, put in a small plant for making crafted cheese, and bought organic milk from their neighbors, Straus Family Creamery.
From the beginning, they wanted to make delicious, artisan cheese, to be environmentally responsible, and to support their cheesemaking friends in sustainable land stewardship. Today, Cowgirl Creamery continues to make just a small collection of cheeses — five aged and three fresh.

City Garden Doughnuts & Coffee
1200 4th St, Santa Rosa
At City Garden we know the finest ingredients make the tastiest product.  In business since June 2017, we entered the food and drink world with a mission to source local, use organic where it makes sense, and above all, choose the very best quality.
Our products are made from: Black Oak Coffee Roasters, Keith Giusto organic flour, Hobb’s bacon and sausage,  Petaluma Farms eggs, Clover and Strauss dairy, Guittard Chocolate, Goguette Bread (for our toasts), Santa Barbara pistachios, Corto olive oil, Savory Spice, Highland Sugarworks Organic Vermont maple syrup, Mt. St. Helen’s wild huckleberries, Imwalle Gardens fresh produce, and local seasonal berries.
After many years of travel and exploring the food scene in major cities, we decided to bring something different to Sonoma County, like hand crafted doughnuts made with real foods.  We are proud to share that in July 2018 San Francisco Magazine named City Garden Doughnuts & Coffee the “Best Of the Best” in the entire Bay Area for the Best Doughnut.  Ingredients Matter!

Sift Dessert Bar ® is a modern dessert shop for gifting, treating and celebrating. With locations in Northern California’s Wine Country and San Francisco Bay Area, Sift also ships desserts nationwide.  Sift likes to have fun while creating desserts and flavors based on nostalgic desserts and favorite treats. All 5 of Sift locations are locally owned by Jeff and Andrea Ballus who are celebrating 11 years in Sonoma and Napa County this year!

Chef Niven Patel, 2018 James Beard Award finalist and executive chef at Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven, is an innovator in modern Indian cuisine. Chef Patel traces his roots to the Indian state of Gujarat, where today he sources the spices used to create authentic dishes at Bollywood.  It was at his first restaurant, Ghee (located in Miami) where he met Will Fernandez and Alex Sarria, the chefs due cuisine at Bollywood Bar & Clay Oven. For Will and Alex, being surrounded by Sonoma County agriculture is a constant source of excitement and inspiration.

Darren McRonald worked in restaurants throughout High School and College, but it was at Table 29 in Napa Valley in 1991, as the Pastry Sous Chef, that actually launched his cooking career. Darren then went to New York City to work at the famed Le Cirque. He moved on from there to Chez Panisse and spent four years fine-tuning his skills in all kitchen positions before moving back to the East Coast where he was Chef de Cuisine at a number of notable Manhattan restaurants. He then spent six years as the Executive Chef and General Manager of the Tinhorn in Upstate New York. Darren completed his East Coast tenure as Chef de Cuisine at Bellavitae, one of The New York Times ‘Best New Restaurants of the Year’ in 2005. Darren moved back to Northern California in 2007 and was the Chef and Managing Partner at West County Grill until joining the team at Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen where he spent the four years proceeding his creation of The Pullman Kitchen.

Chef Niven Patel, 2018 James Beard Award finalist and executive chef at MERCATO Pasta & Produce, uses his early training in Florence and years of experience to beautifully marry Italian cuisine with Sonoma County agriculture. An avid farmer and classically trained chef, Patel’s menus marry the ethos of fresh-from-the-garden produce with dynamic flavor profiles.

An avid chef, forager, fisherman and outdoor enthusiast, Gerard Nebesky brings his love of family, eating, and community to his work. His signature dish, for which he is best known, is his award winning paella. Gerard is a long-term owner of a highly successful catering company and is hoping to expand his business further with each passing year.

Gourmet Mushrooms, Inc. is committed to growing the finest quality specialty mushrooms using sustainable practices. We have been pioneer growers of fresh culinary mushrooms since 1977, when we were the first to commercially cultivate shiitake in the United States.  We are located in Sebastopol, CA and currently grow seven varieties of specialty mushrooms, all certified organic and Kosher.

Executive Chef Ted Williams says he joined Perch + Plow in late 2017 at the ideal time–when the menu was a blank slate and the kitchen was empty. Nothing is more rewarding than building something from scratch according to Williams. Just home from a year at Morimoto in Honolulu, Williams was ready to trade in his surf board and Aloha spirit to meet the challenge of opening a new restaurant. For Williams, 28, the hard work has been more than worth it.
His passion for cooking started as soon as he could stand on a chair at the kitchen counter. He quickly moved from kid fare to the family barbeque and embellished his dishes with just-picked veggies from the garden he helped tend. Williams joined the Culinary Arts Program at Mario Carrillo High School under the capable direction of Mary Schiller who fueled his fire to cook. Upon graduation in 2008, Williams left the classroom behind, preferring to develop his skills in the restaurants of Sonoma and Napa counties.
Armed with a portfolio of photos, Williams responded to an ad for a job fair at Francis Ford Coppola Winery in Geyserville and was hired on the spot by the chef to work the pantry station at Rustic. Soon he advanced to line cook and worked the wood burning grill turning out enviable steaks and chops. Williams then hopped over the hill to Calistoga where he worked at Brannan’s Grill and Barolo. The experience in Calistoga was invaluable and Williams loved the small-town atmosphere, but he says something was missing. When a friend told him about an opening at the Michelin-rated Cotogna in San Francisco, he couldn’t resist the opportunity.
From poke to pork belly, Williams has built a culinary home at Perch + Plow where he continues to serve up his artful small plates featuring the best ingredients Sonoma County offers. When he’s not at work, Williams can be seen around town with his Golden Retriever, Sandy, playing softball and working in his home garden.