A rustic ranch dinner & enchanted garden { Della Fattoria }

Another bakery dinner! What started out as a grey and rainy Friday turned into clear skies and a dramatic sunset for an {almost} alfresco dinner at Weber Ranch, home of the famous Della Fattoria Bakery. After an aperitivo & tasty platters of local charcuterie and cheeses our group got to meet Kathleen Weber for a tour of Della Fattoria's bakery with its stunning wood burning oven ~ before sitting down along a long table under an ancient oak tree for another amazing Della Fattoria ranch dinner in an enchanted garden ...

A weekday escape from the city & Marin bakery dinner ...

In case you have been following this blog for a while, you might remember a recent new 'gig' ~ tour itineraries & a series of curated dinners for a group of trend seeking food entrepreneurs. Visiting from Germany & Austria, the latest group's focus were again bakeries & epicurean trends of the Bay Area. And just as last time, the tour participants were adventurous explorers, more interested in a unique dining experience than the predictable menu {& private dining room vibe} of the urban fine dining scene.

The welcome dinner was hosted by Parkside Bakery in Stinson Beach ~ where proprietors Maxine & John Gilbert welcomed the group with an amazing meal, pouring local wines from Sean Thackrey in Bolinas {just across the lagoon} and preparing an amazing seasonal and locally sourced menu from the wood fired oven ~ including "bread baked with a passion you can actually taste"{according to one of the diners} …

A bakery tour & rustic ranch dinner in Petaluma {Della Fattoria}

The third dinner of the bakery tour {& definitely a highlight of the Bay Area itinerary} was an evening at the Weber Family ranch and tour of the Della Fattoria bakery. After a warm welcome by Kathleen and Edmund Weber and aperitivo in their enchanted garden we got to roam the ranch and wander over to the bakery to watch the fragrant Rosemary Meyer Lemon loaves come out of the wood-fired oven, before sitting down to an amazing meal …

A second bakery tour dinner {Camino in Oakland}

It's not easy seating twenty-six people for dinner in this town - most restaurants will either send you to a private dining room {usually "Siberia" when it comes to ambience, vibe & scenery} or will just flat out turn down any larger group size.

This is where Camino in Oakland comes in. Opened just over six years ago by Chez Panisse alum Russell Moore & his wife Allison Hopelain, one of Camino's most striking dining room features is the room length communal dining table. It is cut from a single tree trunk and surrounded by vintage church chairs. And Camino is also famous for hosting epic dinner parties, from fabulous fundraisers {e.g. the upcoming big Fundraising Dinner Party with Paula Wolfert} to intimate book dinners with chefs & authors in town on a cookbook tour.

Bakery tour & true locavore dinner {Parkside Bakery}

Last weekend I got to host a special project: a European consulting firm had approached me to create a multi day food tour & dining itinerary for their clients, a group of bakers & food entrepreneurs on a 4-day culinary field trip of Northern California bakeries & food trends. It was an exciting project. Not only did I get to share some of my favorite local spots, they were also open to more innovative dining than the usual restaurant experience. 

On the first day I met the group of twenty-five globetrotting bakers straight off the plane at Parkside Bakery in Stinson Beach, a small coastal community about 45 minutes North of San Francisco along a spectacular coastal drive over Golden Gate Bridge & up the rugged Highway 1 coast ...