Taxonomy: Upcoming Events

Napa wines have become some of the most hyped, celebrated, and sought after wines available and we have noticed that the wineries in the Valley seem to fall into two camps – the old guard and the new kids in town. While we aren’t going to make an argument here about which is better, we definitely admire and revere the history, longevity, and style of Mayacamas Winery. The vines at Mayacamas Winery cling to the side of Mt Veeder up to 2,400 feet above the valley floor, and this high elevation fruit offers depth, nuance, and intensity. It also makes for stupendous views from the table — acres of terraced vineyards, wildflower meadows, rugged mountains dotted with firs. On a clear day, you can see all the way to San Francisco. Couple all of that with a winemaking style that tips its hat to the old world and very limited production, and you have a wine so desirable that Mayacamas constantly sells out of current vintages. To say that we feel lucky to set our table at the top of all of this is an understatement. Luckier still is that Mayacamas is opening its vintage library to us for this occasion, so the wines we will be enjoying at the table will have some of their own history, and we can’t wait to see what story they tell us from the glass. Joining us from just on the other side of the hill, Sonoma’s the girl & the fig is the legendary restaurant we’ve chosen to work with for our feast between the vines. The restaurant is well-known for its award-winning wine list and a rotating seasonal menu featuring locally grown produce and wild-caught fish.

This charming family farm near our hometown of Santa Cruz has been an OITF staple since the beginning. Take a stroll through their 45 acres of bountiful farmland and you’ll find persimmons, beets, blackberries, cider apples, artichokes and other goodies along with a lively flock of laying hens and a herd of friendly goats. Guest chefs Jessica Yarr and Cynthia Leung will share the field kitchen on our first night. Jessica is a Santa Cruz native who worked at hotspots Gabriella Cafe and Assembly before opening Chicken Foot early last year. Her menus combine the flavors and food traditions of her Ukrainian heritage with the agricultural bounty of the Bay Area. Cynthia is a French pastry aficionado. She studied French pastry in Paris and worked at the 3-Michelin starred Guy Savoy before starting C.ie.L Patisserie during the pandemic. She bakes up a variety of French classics like madeleines and sablés using locally sourced ingredients and the flavors from her East Asian heritage. Think black sesame madeleines, California citrus tarts and matcha sablés. Yum.

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.