The iconic Huntington Beach Pier is one of the longest piers on the West Coast and also one of the most photogenic scenes in Orange County — which makes it the perfect place to set the long table. From your seat, expect a soundscape of lapping waves and squawking seabirds alongside a spring breeze and a panoramic sunset over the Pacific. Not to mention an epic meal featuring sustainably caught seafood plucked from Pacific waters. Brian Bornemann of Crudo e Nudo, Andrew Gruel of Slapfish, Chris Tompkins of Broad Street Oyster Co., and Valerie Gordon of Valerie Confections will join us in the pier kitchen to celebrate the day’s catch in all its glory. Together, they’ll cook up an unforgettable meal paired with some delectable local beers and wine.
We are proud to partner with our friends at L.A. Times Food Bowl, Presented by City National Bank for this event, benefitting the L.A. Food Bank!
We first visited this vibrant 28-acre oasis in San Juan Capistrano last fall and we’ve been back twice already since. Rows of organic vegetables, fruit trees and flowers come coupled with a view of rolling golden hills and the occasional sea breeze drifting up from the Pacific. Plus a very inspiring story. Founder Evan Marks built this place from scratch, converting a vacant lot into an abundant ecological landscape that feeds the community through produce boxes, food donations, farming apprenticeships and educational programming. This time around, we’ll welcome our good friend Brian Redzikowski to our field kitchen. This will be Brian’s 9th event with us, so he’s rather seasoned when it comes to cooking al fresco. Expect a menu of globally inspired flavors and plenty of peak spring produce from the farm.
Carmel Valley is a beautiful place. Quiet and laid back, a world apart from the storybook lanes of its namesake town on the ocean but only about ten miles from the coast. After a transformative experience working the harvest in New Zealand, Greg and Sydney returned home to California’s Central Coast determined to start their own winery. Tira Nanza is the realization of that dream. Work in their vineyards is healthy and hands-on. Owls and hawks provide natural pest control; cows graze between the vine rows to chomp down weeds and improve soil health; organic and biodynamic sprays keep the fruit healthy and untainted. This is a beautiful place for a long table dinner, complemented with a meal from guest chef Ben Spungin. Ben has worked up and down the West coast at esteemed establishments like Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur and The French Laundry in Napa before starting Alta Group in Monterey, which includes Alta Bakery and his newest venture, Cella. Ben’s cooking highlights locally grown seasonal ingredients and bright flavors. An ideal match for Tira Nanza’s distinctive estate-grown wines like Viognier and Malbec Rosé.
A table in the clouds, high above the fog and surrounded by undulating grasslands exploding with wildflowers and some very happy grazing cows. This majestic ranch in Big Sur is perhaps our most extraordinary site to date — which is why we’re setting the table five times here this year. Our inaugural event comes with a meal from our good friend Matt Millea. An extraordinary site deserves an extraordinary chef, after all. Matt’s a Big Sur local who’s spent time in several celebrated kitchens including Post Ranch Inn and Big Sur Bakery. He’s also toured with us around the world as both an expeditor and chef, including two prior events at this secret locale. We can’t wait to see what he brings to the ocean bluffs this year.
Our second of five events this year at this majestic ranch along the towering cliffs of Big Sur — where rolling hills meet panoramic views of the Pacific and a particularly stunning sunset over the sea. On night two, we’ll have guest chef Clark Staub cooking in the clouds with us. He’s cooked nearly ten events with us over the years, including some of our most adventurous dinners. Clark is deeply committed to sourcing high-quality produce from local farmers and fisherpeople, so expect a menu rich with early summer produce and seafood, plus plenty of pastured beef from the ranch. Perhaps he’ll even cart his pizza oven up the cliffs.
The ‘Secret Sea Cove’ is a name guaranteed to provoke curiosity. What is the secret? You may be tempted to consult Google. Don’t do it! It’s good to be surprised. We’ve set the table in Bay Area sea coves nearly fifty times over the years, from Santa Cruz to San Francisco. We first came to this particular beach, near the town of Pescadero, last year. As always, Hans the fisherman will be there to point out all the different types of fresh-caught fish on the plate along with some tantalizing tales from his life at sea. And this time, the lauded chef in the beach kitchen is Rogelio Garcia. Rogelio was born in Mexico City and grew up between Los Angeles and Napa, where he started working in kitchens at the age of 15. He’s since worked at some of the Bay Area’s best restaurants, including The French Laundry, Calistoga Ranch, and Spruce, on top of competing on Bravo’s Top Chef. Now he’s the chef at Luce, the award-winning fine-dining restaurant in the InterContinental SF hotel. Expect a fish-forward feast of contemporary California cuisine with some European and Latin American flare. At the table, feel free to flip off your shoes and dig your toes into the sand — or you can always wear your bathing suit and take a dip between courses.
A beautiful private beach that rarely sees a footprint. We might see seals, whales, dolphins and sea otters. It is a big ocean. When night falls, we’ll also see the blinking light of the historic Pigeon Point lighthouse. This is a relatively new beach spot for us, and we’re still finding great places to set the table. Fisherman Hans will share his stories of the denizens of the deep, and guest chef Alex Hong of San Francisco’s Sorrel will return to our barefoot beach kitchen to prepare another feast of the freshest catch the sea has to offer.
This is one of our most beloved spots to dine al fresco — which is why we’re staying three nights in a row. A table tucked into the cliffs, a lovely bed of soft sand to dig our toes into, a sea breeze wafting sweet smells over the table from the beach kitchen. Guest chef Nelson German will transform Hans Haveman’s fresh catch into a seafood-centric feast in the sand. He’s the chef behind Michelin-recommended seafood spot alaMar Kitchen in Oakland and most recently, he opened his second venture, Sobre Mesa, an Afro-Caribbean cocktail lounge that earned the title of Most Electric Cocktail Scene by Eater SF in its first year.
This magical property on Sonoma Mountain has a lengthy history in the region: as a dairy farm, a prune orchard, a stage coach stop. Now it’s a 55-acre vineyard and organic farmstead run by the wonderful folks at Belden Barns. They grow Pinot Noir, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and other grapes in rich volcanic soil that makes for some of the finest fruit in the region. They grow an array of fruits and vegetables, including cider apples for their estate-made hard cider and have also raised livestock. All that, plus a live oak wishing tree where guests hang wishes, hopes and dreams. Rumor has it quite a few wishes have come true over the years, so we suggest you come prepared. Guest chef Elliot Bell spent ten years at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry before leaving to open Charlie’s this year — a community-focused neighborhood restaurant focused on locally sourced ingredients.
Belden Barns is outstandingly beautiful: thirty acres of organic vines, vegetables and fruit trees including stone fruit, citrus and cider apples. There’s also a live oak wishing tree at the center of the property where guests can hang wishes, hopes and dreams. Our host vintners craft an array of delicious wines with their estate-grown fruit, including Pinot Noir, Syrah and Sauvignon Blanc. We’ll sip several varieties alongside our meal from guest chef Jammir Gray. Jammir is a Northern California native who cooked at acclaimed restaurants across the country before joining the team at Compline, a Napa Valley wine bar and restaurant featuring locally sourced Mediterranean small plates — the perfect pairing for Belden Barns’ award-winning wines.
