One of my favorite events in Sonoma takes place Saturday, January 31. The Sonoma Valley Olive Season will once again host its traditional Feast of the Olive Dinner at Ramekins Culinary School. The 14th annual event showcases the Valley’s second-largest crop, the olive, by bringing together 19 of the area’s top chefs to prepare a multicourse olive-inspired feast.
During this wonderful evening, guests will be seated at one of three expansive candlelit dinner tables set in Ramekins Culinary School’s stunning Vineyard Room. Each table will boast a dedicated team of executive chefs, who will collaborate on and prepare a five-course dinner of olive-inspired culinary creations. All dishes will reflect each chef’s individual cooking style, while highlighting their camaraderie in the kitchen. In addition, each course of the epicurean feast will be paired with award-winning Sonoma Valley wines, for a quintessential Wine Country experience.
Masters of ceremonies for the Feast include Gary Saperstein from Out in the Vineyard, Liam Mayclem from KCBS-FM’s Foodie Chap and CBS’ Eye on the Bay, and Joel Riddell from KKSF-FM’s Dining Around.
The dinner begins at 6 p.m. in the Vineyard Room at Ramekins Culinary School, located at 450 West Spain St. in Sonoma. Tickets are $175 per person, and are available by calling 707-996-1090, ext. 108. To learn more about each of the participating chefs and the course they are preparing, and to download their signature olive-inspired recipes, visit olivefestival.com.
Participating in this year’s Feast of the Olive are such exemplary chefs as Andrew Cain of Santé at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa; Ari Weiswasser of Glen Ellen Star; Jeffrey Lloyd of Café La Haye; Adolfo Veronese from Aventine; John Toulze of the girl & the fig; Joshua Murray of Carneros Bistro at the Lodge at Sonoma Renaissance Resort & Spa; Carlo Cavallo from BV Whiskey Bar & Grille; Catherine Venturini of Olive & Vine; Dana Jaffe of Saddles at MacArthur Place; Andrea Koweek and Moaya Scheiman from Crisp; Gary Edwards of Carneros Caves; Antonio Ghilarducci from Depot Hotel; Armando Navarro of El Dorado Kitchen & Hotel; Manuel Azevedo from La Salette, Ed Metcalfe of Shiso; Lisa Lavagetto and Doug MacFarland from Ramekins; and Sheana Davis of the Epicurean Connection.