You may think you’re in Napa Valley, but you’re not. Valle de Guadalupe is a buzzy wine country destination less than two hours from San Diego. Host vintner Natalia Badan’s wines are among the valley’s most critically acclaimed, with a portfolio ranging from Sauvignon Blanc to Nebbiolo. And the splendor in the glass will be matched by the splendor on the plate. Guest chefs Drew Deckman and Sheyla Alvarado are two of the region’s very best. A Michelin-starred chef, Drew worked with such greats as Paul Bocuse and Madeleine Kamman before opening the vineyard’s on-site restaurant Deckman’s. Sheyla’s restaurant Lunario was quickly named one of the region’s best after opening in 2019. Together, they’ll craft a meal with ingredients grown right here on the estate and other nearby farms and ranches. Not to mention seafood caught fresh from the waters of the Pacific just a half-hour to the west. Deckman’s was named to San Pellegrino’s 50 Best Discovery list. We invite you to join us on your own voyage of discovery to experience the terroir of the Baja Peninsula.
You may think you are in Napa Valley, but you are not. Valle de Guadalupe is a winery less than two hours from San Diego. Winemaker Natalia Badán’s wines are among the most acclaimed in the valley, with a portfolio that ranges from Sauvignon Blanc to Nebbiolo. And the splendor in the glass will be accompanied by the splendor on the plate. Guest chefs Drew Deckman and Sheyla Alvarado are two of the best in the region. The Michelin-starred Drew worked with great chefs such as Paul Bocuse and Madeleine Kamman before opening the vineyard’s Deckman’s restaurant. Sheyla’s Lunario restaurant was quickly named one of the best in the region upon opening in 2019. Together, you’ll craft a meal using ingredients grown right here on the farm and on other nearby farms and ranches. Not to mention shellfish caught in the Pacific waters just a half hour to the west. Deckman’s was named to San Pellegrino’s Top 50 Discoveries list. We invite you to join us on your own journey of discovery to experience the terroir of the Baja California Peninsula.
We’re kicking off a fall series of dinners at our favorite stretch of California shoreline. We can’t wait to see where on the beach we end up placing the table; maybe somewhere near the tidepools or up against the scrubby bluffs overlooking the waves. Don’t be surprised if the incoming tides lap against your toes before dessert is served. Gonzalo Guzmán will be in the field kitchen, creating something beautiful with the freshest catch from H&H Fresh Fish. Chef Gonzalo has joined us at the beach several times before, and will surely serve a delicious dinner inspired by the Mexican flavors he showcases at his restaurant, Nopalito.
We love this secret beach because it has a little bit of everything. It’s accessed through a historic farm, where the fields stretch to the edges of bluffs overlooking sandy coves and tidepools. Crashing waves and cloudy skies add a sense of drama, while a sunny day lends a sense of relaxation. We’re inviting our good friend Adam Dulye from the Brewer’s Association back to cook dinner in one of his favorite spots featuring plenty of H&H Fresh Fish caught just beyond our seats. Fisherman Hans will surely entertain us with a few stories from the sea. Perhaps he’ll even point out a passing whale or a pod of dolphins, all while chef Adam cooks up a seafood-focused feast.
Hog Island Oyster Company is high on the must-stop-to-eat list when our new Tour Crew arrives in the Bay Area each spring. They offer a taste of Northern California’s finest seafood (including, of course, some really great oysters). We’re excited to make our relationship more official, bringing our long table to their ranch overlooking Tomales bay for the first time. We’ll take a stroll to our table site above the oyster beds and learn about the positive environmental impact of oyster farming. Husband-wife duo Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski from Michelin-starred, James Beard Award-winning State Bird Provisions will be joining us in the field kitchen, where they are excited to show off the wealth of ingredients the Bay Area is known for. Stuart and Nicole have joined us several times as guest chefs in the early days of OITF. We are excited to have them back!
This family-owned historic timber and cattle ranch rarely allows outside visitors, so we are honored to be invited back for a second year to set the table in their pastures on the craggy bluffs over the Pacific Ocean. The spirit of the Wild West still reigns strong here, where surfers and cowboys feel equally at home and the cows graze on grasses dewy with salty sea air. This cinematic site also happens to have some extremely personable hosts. The Falk family (and their many dogs) can’t wait to welcome us back to enjoy the incredible sunset views from the table. Better yet, we’ve invited some of our favorite chefs to craft a meal in their honor. A16 is a staple of the San Francisco restaurant scene, known both for their wonderful Italian cuisine and owner Shelley Lindgren’s phenomenal wine program. Chefs Yosuke Machida and Charlie Guyard will tow their pizza oven up the tight corners of Highway 1 in order to serve us wood-fired pizza at reception, before a meal you’ll surely think is worth the drive yourself.
Kleinood Farm & Winery was our first-ever table in Africa last year, and we haven’t stopped thinking about it. This little farm grows wine grapes and olive trees on the side of Helderberg Mountain, just outside of Cape Town. Their name means “something small and precious”, and we’ve never seen a better argument that good things come in small packages – the soft scent of perfume roses wafting through the air, the flavors of their house verjus, honey and olive oil and the surrounding mountains that turn purple with the setting sun. There are so many good things tucked into this little place. We can’t wait to return for another visit, and we are excited to have Chef Jenny Ward from Makers Landing back in the field kitchen for the second time. This time, she is bringing friend, collaborator and Makers Landing incubator graduate Strone Henry from Kos Gangsta to help create the menu. Together, they’ll celebrate the diverse array of flavors in South African cuisine with a focus on the unique influences of Cape Town.
This stunning site never ceases to amaze. Whether we’re cliffside looking at the clouds over the redwoods or staring straight down to the Pacific on a sunny day, the views are nothing short of breathtaking. And the table – stretching majestically along the cliffside road – is pretty splendid on its own. We are honored to set the long table in partnership with One Tam, the community campaign of the Tamalpais Lands Collaborative, who help ensure a healthy future for the mountain that so many cherish. Chef Jeremy Zimmerman of the girl and the fig is an OITF alumnus and knows exactly what he’s getting into. Cooking (or dining) on a mountainside thousands of feet above the ocean is for the genuinely adventurous and not for the faint of heart.
Regardless of where we set it, we serve the long table with family-style platters from Heath Ceramics. They hold the abundance of each farm feast in style. As we wind down our tour season we simply have to stop by to celebrate at the source, the Heath Factory in Sausalito. We’ll start the evening in the factory yard to get a peek behind the scenes before seeing their ceramics in action at the table, set on the iconic Sausalito waterfront at the Clipper Yacht Harbor. Guest chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR & Mattina will bring his soulful, Michelin-starred Italian cuisine to the table while showcasing the freshest catch from our host fisherman, Zander Budge.
Every year, we finish out the summer tour season with a foraging dinner at Pie Ranch. Our host forager and king of mushrooms, Todd Spanier, will take us on a tour of the surrounding forests looking for autumnal treasures amongst the redwoods, while host farmers Nancy Vail and Jered Lawson show off their heirloom wheat and organic vegetables. To keep it all in the family, we’re inviting an alumnus of our Tour Crew to celebrate our 2023 Crew’s achievements. Carlo Espinas was our kitchen manager for the 2019 tour, before launching several of his own acclaimed projects throughout the Bay Area — and we are thrilled to have him back in the field kitchen to cook this year’s feast.
We love the Sayle family and the historic farmhouse at Boggy Creek so much, we’re sticking around for a second night. We also can’t leave Austin without getting some really great BBQ, so we’ve invited one of the city’s best pitmasters to dinner. Evan LeRoy runs LeRoy and Lewis, an experimental BBQ truck dedicated to sourcing meat from small, responsible purveyors in Texas. You’re just as likely to find beef cheeks as brisket on their menu. It’s safe to say chef Evan knows a thing or two about open flame cooking, so we can’t wait to see what he does in the field kitchen while we dine between Boggy Creek’s abundant vegetable beds.
