Relish Culinary Adventures - Chef-Instructors

Our Chef-Instructors come from a wide variety of culinary backgrounds, resulting in classes that are diverse and stimulating. We offer classes with well-known chefs from successful restaurants, cookbook authors, caterers and private chefs, wine experts, food purveyors, and other culinary authorities. In alphabetical order:

John Ash founded his restaurant, John Ash & Company, in Northern California’s wine country in 1980. John has written three books including John Ash Cooking One-on-One: Kitchen Secrets from a Master Teacher, From the Earth to the Table: John Ash’s Wine Country Cuisine and American Game Cooking. He writes regularly for the Los Angeles Times and is a contributor to publications such as Bon Appétit and Fine Cooking magazines. He also has a new winery venture called Sauvignon Republic Cellars. Nationally renowned as a wine and food educator, John served for many years as the Culinary Director for Fetzer Vineyards and is on the faculty of The Professional Wine Studies Program at the CIA Greystone. He travels widely teaching to both home and professional cooks.

The Beverage People is a family owned and operated retail and mailorder store, in business for almost 30 years right here in beautiful Sonoma County. The Beverage People staff are experienced, knowledgable, and enthusiastic about all your fermentation hobbies. The Beverage People founders broke ground for the good beer movement in the 1970's by searching out products for home use and teaching thousands of customers how to make great beer, mead, wine, and now cheese, at home. The Beverage People website and catalogs feature all the equipment and ingredients needed to craft these goodies at home.

Although Dino Bugica was born in Reno, Nevada he still considers himself a "transplant" from Pisa, Italy. He grew up with the influence of his Italian mother and grandmother always cooking with fresh ingredients from his grandfather's ranch and farm. At 18, his passion for food and his heritage took him back to Italy where he lived and cooked for seven years, including stints at three restaurants, a Dutch chocolate maker and a butcher shop and salumerie. As the co-owner and chef at Diavola Pizzeria in Geyserville, Dino is passionate about authentic, old world Italian cuisine where everything from the pizza to the salumi and sausages is made from scratch.

After graduating from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Tracey Shepos Cenami worked at Faultline Brewing Company in Sunnyvale before heading to New York where she worked at Helena’s, then Union Square Café. Returning to San Francisco, she served as lead line cook at 2223, consulting chef at Fly Bar and Restaurant, and sous chef at Lulu Catering and Harvest Grill. In 2002 Shepos participated in opening Willi’s Wine Bar in Santa Rosa as sous chef and was soon promoted to chef de cuisine. Over the next six years Tracey assisted in the opening of three more restaurants for Stark Reality as the Executive Chef de Cuisine of the company. In late 2009 she resigned from the company she considers her extended family to pursue chef consulting opportunities, as well as become a certified Artisan Cheesemaker. She strives to combine new and unusual, as well as local, ingredients with classic cooking techniques to create updated comfort foods. Her specialties are Mediterranean, particularly Italian and Spanish, and she enjoys working with cheese.

Scott Davis, also known to the kids in the Bay Area as The Culinary Dude, has been teaching child and adult cooking classes for the past 5 years. Davis’ degrees in both Early Childhood Education and Culinary Arts are a combination his two passions. His philosophy for all ages is to provide a hands-on developmental approach to teaching and education in the kitchen. "It is my belief that by teaching people how to cook for themselves, they are less likely to eat fast or junk food and develop a better concept of what healthy food and proper portions are. The goal of my classes is to teach and inspire all participants' imaginations in the kitchen and to encourage their creativity as they learn a variety of cooking styles and techniques including, sauté, simmer, slice, bake and blend."

The Epicurean Connection's Sheana Davis is celebrating 20 years as a Chef, Caterer and Culinary Educator. You will find Sheana teaching cooking classes, conducting workshops and participating as a guest chef at local and national culinary events. Sheana is the founder and host of the annual Sonoma Valley Cheese Conference featuring local and international guests. A new project for Sheana this year is the national release of a new cheese called "Delice de la Vallee". Sheana offers a creative and versatile range of food experiences and services while traveling between Sonoma and New Orleans.

Franco Dunn's career as a professional chef started with Jordan Winery where he was Executive Chef for five and a half years. He lived in Italy for two and a half years where he worked in fourteen different restaurants. Among these were two Michelin three star restaurants, a two star, and a one star, and many excellent trattorias. Franco started Santi Restaurant in Geyserville with his long time friend Thomas Oden where he was co-chef for five and a half years. He is currently chef emeritus at Santi.

After a 30 year career building high-tech telecommunications equipment, it occurred to Dave Ehreth that now people telecommunicate with each other, the next thing they’d need would be a really good pickle. Combining a lifelong passion for food with his hobby of making pickles in the summer from cucumbers grown in his garden, Dave started Alexander Valley Gourmet maker of barrel-fermented pickles and raw sauerkraut. Dave's products have been featured in Food and Wine and 7x7 magazines, and he recently served his raw sauerkraut at Slow Food Nation. Today, Alexander Valley Gourmet provides a variety of all-natural pickles to stores and restaurants throughout the West.

Duskie Estes began cooking at the age of five in her EZ-Bake oven. Growing up in San Francisco, she fell in love with everything restaurant through her weekly Wednesday night dinners out with her father. She worked in kitchens across the country, landing in Seattle for many years working closely with Tom Douglas in his numerous successful restaurants. In 2001, Duskie and her husband chef John Stewart opened ZAZU restaurant + farm in Santa Rosa and in 2005 added BOVOLO in Healdsburg. The two have been featured on P.B.S.’s Chef A Field and on Emeril Green, along with numerous food and lifestyle publications. In 2009, Duskie & John received the Rising Star Chef Awards for Sustainability and, most recently, Duskie's culinary prowess was recognized when she was chosen as an Iron Chef competitor for the 2010 season.

John Franchetti is co-owner and chef at Rosso Pizzeria and Wine Bar in Santa Rosa. A Sonoma County native, John graduated from USF/Johnson & Wales before working in kitchens at Commander’s Palace and Emeril’s in New Orleans with Emeril Lagasse and the Mission Lodge and Gesine’s Restaurant in Alaska where he was voted best chef two years in a row. Chef John was manning the pizza oven at Pizzeria Tra Vigne when he met future business partner Kevin Cronin in 2005 and ideas for a joint venture were conceived. Two years later, Rosso Pizzeria and Wine Bar opened and since then has garnered amazing reviews for its wood-fired pizzas and piadines.

The Gluten Free Lab technicians are Aly Anderson, Heather Prandini and Molly Jackel. The Lab is located in Northern California’s beautiful Sonoma County, where fresh produce and artisan ingredients are readily available and culinary expectations are high. Our recipes incorporate fresh, healthful food (and sometimes not so healthful) and encourage gluten-free folks to expand their minds and palates, and, in turn, their options. Through years of trial and error inside the kitchen and out, we have learned that being gluten-intolerant is not a curse, but can be a fun and rewarding journey. Join us, we have a really good time! In addition to being utter food-nerds, Heather and Aly are the creative brains at notion:creative, a full-service design team, while Molly is a freelance editor specializing in food and cookbook projects.

Mateo Granados grew up in a family of food producers in Oxkutzcab, Yucatan, Mexico, a village known as the orchard of the Yucatán for its output of fruits and vegetables. His credits include Alain Rondelle and 42 Degrees in San Francisco, Manka’s Inverness Lodge in Inverness, and Alfy’s in San Anselmo. He was executive sous chef at Masa’s in San Francisco under Chef Julian Serrano and executive chef of Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen here in Healdsburg. Recently featured in Food and Wine magazine, Mateo now runs Mateo Granados Catering where you'll see him at private parties, winery events and local farmers markets where he sells his Yucatan tamales and other Mexican dishes with a wine country twist.

Christopher Greenwald is a maverick chef who has cooked in California’s wine country since 1998. From the Chez Panisse-sponsored garden project at the Sierra Youth Center to multi-course, pinot noir soaked soirees at Iron Horse to intimate VIP receptions for some of the biggest names in rock and roll, chef Christopher provides a unique and exciting forum for the palate. As the Chef/Owner of Bay Laurel Culinary, Chef Greenwald continues to combine his years of experience in the kitchen and on the farm with his passion for travel and different cultures, presenting wine-friendly global comfort cuisine that is both casual and elegant.

Kathy Gunst is a freelance writer, editor and radio personality living in Maine. She is the author of thirteen cookbooks, including Stonewall Kitchen Favorites and Stonewall Kitchen Harvest (best American Cookbook 2005). Kathy is a graduate of the London Cordon Bleu School of Cookery and a former culinary editor at Food & Wine magazine. She has been a contributing editor at Parenting Magazine and has written for the New York Times; Travel & Leisure; Bon Appétit; the Los Angeles Times; Better Homes and Gardens; O, The Oprah Magazine; Country Living; and the Boston Globe. Since 2000, she has been the "Resident Chef" for the award-winning show Here and Now on WBUR National Public Radio. She just published two new books—Stonewall Kitchen Winter Celebrations and Stonewall Kitchen Breakfast (Chronicle Books, September 2009). She is currently teaching classes at the new Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School and working on two more Stonewall Kitchen cookbooks—Stonewall Kitchen Grilling and Stonewall Kitchen Appetizers—to be published next spring.

Lia Huber is the founder and CEO of the rich-content website, Nourish Network, and its companion small-group coaching program, My Nourish Mentor. Lia is also a widely published food writer and recipe developer, for magazines like Cooking Light, Prevention and Health, and a rising presence both on-screen and in-person. In any format she tackles, Lia brings passion—and fun—to her message of nourishing body, soul and planet with every bite.

Mei Ibach was born in a small, Malaysia fishing Village near Singapore where she learned the secrets of cooking fresh, seasonal cuisine from members of her extended Chinese family while growing up. She gathered her own spices, grew her own vegetables and grilled the catch of the day over an open fire. In Sonoma County, she has worked in a variety of Asian kitchens, including Thai, Japanese, Chinese and Pacific Rim restaurants. More recently, she has shared her professional techniques and authentic recipes at Santa Rosa Junior College Culinary Arts program and other community cooking classes. Her passions include Dim Sum and Tea, cooking with children and showcasing artisan ingredients from local farms and purveyors.

Mary Karlin is a chef, author and founder of Elements of Taste. Mary is a founding staff member and Chef Instructor at Ramekins Culinary School, Sonoma, Ca, where she has taught a variety of cooking classes for the past ten years. She also teaches at Rancho La Puerta, the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone and Sur La Table in Scottsdale, AZ. Mary’s acclaimed first book, Wood-Fired Cooking, was published by Ten Speed Press in spring 2009. Her second book, Making Home-crafted Artisan Cheese, will be published by Ten Speed Press in summer 2011. A freelance food writer and traveling instructor, Mary splits her time between northern California and Arizona where she teaches her seasonal Live Fire Cooking Camp and Cheesemaking Workshops.

Master Sommelier Geoff Kruth brings vitality, passion and extensive knowledge to his role as Wine Director of The Farmhouse Inn and Restaurant in the Russian River Valley. He has helped lead the Farmhouse to critical acclaim; with a Michelin star, a 27 score in Zagat, and the recent naming by Gourmet magazine as one of the world's top 36 food destinations. Having worked at some of America's finest dining establishments, Kruth is on a short list of the top young American wine professionals. In 2008 he became one of less than 150 people worldwide to have ever earned the designation of Master Sommelier.

After teaching elementary school and educating teachers, Jennifer Lange turned to her other passion—cooking. She graduated from the Bauman College Natural Chef Program and found her greatest love—teaching cooking to adults and children. As the owner of The Vital Gourmet, a personal chef business specializing in healthy gourmet cuisine, Jennifer loves to inspire others to find their way back to the kitchen, improve their eating habits through healthy gourmet choices and connect with the abundance we find here in Sonoma County.

Jeff Mall is the Executive Chef at ZIN Restaurant and Wine Bar. Jeff attended the University of San Francisco where he earned a degree in Hospitality Management. He then went on graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Jeff moved back to Northern California and began working with chef/mentors of different disciplines, such as, Jeremiah Tower and Mark Franz at Stars Oakville Café, Bradley Ogden at Lark Creek/Walnut Creek, and Anne and David Gingrass at Hawthorne Lane in San Francisco. This variety of experience helped Jeff to develop his own vision for ZIN, featuring updated and enhanced American home cooking and farm fresh produce much of it from his own Eastside Farm).

Susan Mall attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and went on to work at some pretty great places in San Francisco. In LA, she worked for a combination of restaurants and catering companies, and found that she enjoyed the pace of catering much more than that of restaurants. In 1998 Susan moved to Healdsburg to run the kitchen at Oakville Grocery where she met Jeff. About six years ago they started farming and created Eastside Farm. Two years ago they were given 13 chickens which have multiplied to more than 100. Susan's alter-ego Chicken Mama shares her chicken and other farm escapades on her Eastside Farm Chronicles blog. She shares her expertise through backyard chicken classes to Slow Food members and other locals.

A native Californian, Todd Muir has been surrounded by the Sonoma wine country most of his professional life. Todd perfected his culinary talent at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. One of the highlights of his early career was his training under Alice Waters and Joyce Goldstein at Chez Panisse. He was Executive Chef at the Five Star, Wine Spectator Award-Winning Madrona Manor, owned and operated Mangia Bene, an Italian style trattoria, both in Healdsburg, and was Culinary Director at St. Francis Winery. Currently, Todd is focusing his talents on a new venture called Wine Country Chefs offering a variety of exclusive culinary services to wineries.

Andrea Mugnaini has become known as America’s ambassador to the world of wood fired cooking through her company Mugnaini Imports, Inc. Having dedicated the last 20 years of her life to bringing this style of cooking and living to American families and restaurants, she has been able to drive what is now considered a fad to the forefront. She even sponsored the California State Assembly Bill allowing restaurants to use wood-fired ovens outdoors. Mugnaini ovens now grace the Culinary Institute of America’s Hyde Park, NY and prestigious restaurants such as Chez Panisse. Homeowners across the country travel to her acclaimed “Art of Wood-Fired Cooking” classes to learn how to enjoy their ovens. Andrea newly published cookbook The Art of Wood Fired Cooking demonstrates just how versatile and fun cooking in a wood oven can be.

Gerards Nebesky's interest in the culinary arts went hand-in-hand with his travels around the world. His adventure travels always include the goal of eating well while on the road, trail, summit, ocean or wherever he may end up. He became (by default) the trip cook which led him to perfect dishes that require as few pans as possible and easily procured ingredients. Paella was a favorite long before he became famous cooking for the crew of Desperate Housewives and Saturday Night Live and won a Throwdown with Bobby Flay on Food Network. You can find Gerard at any number of winery events, private parties and other festive gatherings with his Gerard's Paella business.

One of the most highly regarded chefs in America today, Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature “Progressive American” cuisine, a style which reinterprets classic European cooking using American artisanal products and small farm producers. Beginning in 1988 with the opening of Aureole in New York, Charlie has combined his creative cooking spirit with his flair for business to establish an impressive roster of restaurants across the country, including the local Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg. Charlie is the author of three cookbooks, Great American Food, Charlie Palmer’s Casual Cooking, The Art of Aureole, and Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen.

With over 16 years experience in Australian restaurants and catering, Chef Victoria Rezonja brings a unique insight into Australian cuisine and the fusion between European tradition and Asian influence that it embodies. With a strong emphasis on regional and seasonal cuisine, Chef Blumenstein loves to share the joy of good, simple food, treated with care and the pleasure a shared meal can bring. With a wide range of experience in the food industry, including owning and running two restaurants, working with wineries on food and wine pairing and developing commercial charcuterie products with free-range pig producers, Chef Blumenstein has many unique recipes, tips and tales to share, and loves doing so. Her latest venture is a line of Sonoma Spice and Seed products.

Elissa Rubin-Mahon’s foraging and gleaning business, Artisan Preserves, specializes in wildcrafted and rare heirloom fruit. She writes a culinary column for Mushroom: The Journal of Wild Mushrooming, is past president and founding culinary chairperson of the Sonoma County Mycological Association and teaches about foraged and heirloom foods and preserving. Elissa works with Slow Food USA to research and evaluate rare and endangered foodstuffs for Slow Food's Ark of Taste and specializes in creating menus and recipes that feature them.

Monica Sallouti, a Certified Natural Chef, is a graduate of Bauman College in Penngrove, CA, a Holistic Nutrition and Culinary Arts School. Sallouti has been cooking for family and friends since she was a teenager and was influenced by her Lebanese and American grandmothers and the ten years she lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A life-threatening (and life-transformative) encounter with metastatic melanoma in her late 20s created an interest in self-healing when food, cooking and health became inextricably linked in her quest for health. Sallouti now works as a personal chef and caterer, planning, preparing and serving delicious, highly nutritious and beautiful food.

Amy Schaefers graduated from the Culinary Institute of America at Hyde Park. After working at restaurants in California and New York, Amy cultivated her interest in the Pastry Arts. After moving to Sonoma County, she worked at both the Graton Bakery and the Downtown Bakery. She is now a freelance caterer and pastry chef available for private parties, specialty desserts, and wedding cakes.

A walking melting pot, Oded Shakked winemaker and co-owner of Longboard Vineyards was born in Israel and raised on three continents. Growing up a hundred yards from the beach just north of Tel-Aviv, he was splashing in the Mediterranean by age two months, and later became one of the area's first surfers. While studying winemaking at UC Davis (can't beat the homework!), Oded worked harvests in Napa and in Bordeaux, but his heart was captured by the rich diversity of Sonoma County - the soils, the climate and the people. Passionate about his craft, Oded is also a great believer in perspective, saying, "Relax, it's only frickin' wine...enjoy it with food you like and trust nothing but your own palate."

Josh Silvers grew up consumed by the love of good food. He began cooking at the tender age 17 and quickly rose through the ranks of pantry, finish line and sous chef before venturing out on his own as an executive chef. He gained a breadth of experience at several restaurants including Mustard’s Grill in Napa with Chef Cindy Pawlcyn, Café SFA (Saks Fifth Avenue) in San Francisco, and the Orinda Grill in Orinda where he also shared his culinary vision and skills by teaching cooking classes. In 1999, Josh Silvers and his wife Regina moved to Santa Rosa to open their dream restaurant Syrah Bistro and the newly-opened Jackson's Bar and Oven.

Tom Simoneau is a former country rocker turned grape grower, winemaker, wine marketer, educator, wine judge and critic—the living definition of “The Wine Guy.” Tom farms 12 acres in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley and has transitioned from award-winning amateur wines to the 2005 launch of Simoneau Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. After winning the prestigious Sonoma County Harvest Fair Sweepstake Award for the Best Amateur Red Wine in 1992, Tom began broadcasting The Wine Minute on Santa Rosa’s News Talk 1350 KSRO where he is still heard daily. He is the director of sales for Windsor Vineyards and an adjunct professor at Santa Rosa Junior College where his wine education courses are perennial favorites.

Kathleen Stewart is the owner of the wonderful Downtown Bakery and Creamery, a delectable Healdsburg landmark, that also sells its goodies at the San Francisco Ferry Building Farmers Market. Master baker Kathleen is an alumnus of Chez Panisse in Berkeley where she was part of the original Bakers Dozen organization lead by Marion Cunningham and contributed to the The Baker's Dozen Cookbook. Kathleen's luscious and well-tested recipes have also been featured in Fine Cooking, Gourmet Magazine, 101cookbooks.com and seriouseats.com.

Gayle Okamura Sullivan and her husband Brian (with son Patrick) own Dry Creek Peach and Produce in the heart of the Dry Creek Valley of Healdsburg. Surrounded by world-renown vineyards, Dry Creek Peach is the last remaining fruit farm in the valley and the only dedicated, certified organic peach farm in the county. Gayle and her family split their time between the peach farm and San Francisco where Gayle works as a pastry chef at Postrio restaurant. The Sullivans and their orchard have been featured in House and Garden and Savor Wine Country magazines.

After graduating from the California Culinary Academy in 1987, Yvonne Tally's adventurous spirit took her to France and Italy. Upon returning to the US, she began a catering business while teaching aerobics for fun; this was the beginning of Your Fit Gourmet, a food and wellness lifestyle coaching system. In 2000, Yvonne co-founded Poised®, an exclusive personal fitness and wellness center in Menlo Park. As a single mom and CEO of her own company, she knows how eating healthy can be challenging in our hectic fast-paced lives. She combines her years of experience as a professional cook into a wellness system for balanced living that is fabulously gourmet! Her book Your Fit Gourmet: Cooking Secrets for the Overscheduled Woman is the first book in her healthy lifestyle series. Delightfully entertaining, she is a frequent guest on CBS and Fine Living Network.

Poppy Tooker is a culinary activist who has worked tirelessly to promote and preserve the historic food ways of New Orleans. With her motto “Eat It To Save It”, she has helped revive endangered foods across the U.S. and abroad in collaboration with Slow Food’s Ark of Taste. Poppy's efforts to rebuild culinary landmarks after Hurricane Katrina earned her a "Hero of the Storm" award from the Times Picayune. She is a contributing editor for Hallmark Magazine and regular columnist for LA Cookin’ and has also written for Fine Cooking. Poppy’s on-camera flair has made her a sought-after guest on the Food Network, the History Channel and in multiple PBS documentaries. Her new book The Crescent City Farmers Market Cookbook was published in March 2009.