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January 7, 2014

Perfect Pairing: Christopher Kostow + Guest Chefs


Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Bartender Sam Levy at Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

The Restaurant at Meadowood Chef Christopher Kostow grills eel at Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

A catfish cabbage roll chilled broth—created by Chefs Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns of Bar Tartine in San Francisco—paired with El Molino's 2010 Rutherford Chardonnay, all served on night 10 of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Miles Pundsack-Poe stacks sea urchins at Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Chef David Kinch, of Los Gatos' Manresa, and Meadowood's Chef Christopher Kostow on night 11 of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Chefs Cortney Burns and Nicolaus Balla of Bar Tartine in San Francisco on night 10 of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Adam Ross at Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Chef Matthew Accarrino of SPQR in San Francisco on night seven of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Chef Andy Ricker of Pok Pok in Portland and New York and Meadowood's Chef Christopher Kostow on the first night of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Benjamin Richardson decants wine during Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Chefs gather at Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

The Restaurant at Meadowood's director Nathaniel Dorn at Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

The Harlan Estate wines poured during the final night of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

Photo Credit: Bonjwing Lee

Editors' Notes

Lobster, flax, caviar, and cauliflower cooked in buttermilk by Chefs Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns of Bar Tartine in San Francisco. The dish was paired with El Molino's 2006 Rutherford Chardonnay on night 10 of Meadowood's 12 Days of Christmas.

This past December, chef Christopher Kostow gathered 14 chefs from famed restaurants both in California and abroad for The Restaurant at Meadowood’s sixth annual 12 Days of Christmas series held at the Napa Valley resort in St. Helena. Each chef cooked with Kostow for one night only at the Michelin-starred restaurant, and Kostow helmed the kitchen on the final night of the fundraiser for the Holly Cranston Memorial Fund and Napa Emergency Women’s Services. In addition, each meal was paired with wines from 12 local vintners who poured flights of their favorite vintages for guests. “The event gives us a chance to work with old friends as well as meet new chefs that we find inspiring,” Kostow says. “My team and I get to be challenged and cook in a style sometimes out of our comfort zone. For example, this year Andy Ricker of Pok Pok created a family style Thai meal.”

In addition to Ricker, whose restaurants in Portland and New York have developed cult followings, the impressive roster of chefs included such California-based talents as Matthew Accarrino of SPQR in San Francisco, Nicolaus Balla and Cortney Burns of Bar Tartine in San Francisco, and David Kinch of Manresa in Los Gatos.

Menus stayed true to the individual whims of each chef, while also taking advantage of the bounty of the famed wine region. “I think the bay area is the most exciting area in the country right now for restaurants,” Kostow says. “It has such a concentration of creativity, along with an abundance of chefs who share an understanding of the products and growers in the region.” All the ingredients for the multi-course menus were sourced from the same local purveyors The Restaurant at Meadowood uses. Of course there are sometimes special ingredients that must be procured from other places, but the chefs do their best to stay local. Prior to each dinner, Kostow walked each chef through the restaurant’s greenhouse to gather herbs and additional produce for garnish. “We also have a forager who gets incredible ingredients from the area around Meadowood,” says Kostow. “We let chefs know what’s available to see if they want to incorporate anything into their menus.”

The whole process started months before the holiday season with a chat between Kostow and the visiting chefs. “I’ll call each chef and begin a dialogue about the dinner,” he says. “They’ll choose four to five courses they want to make, and then my team and I will fill in the rest. We’ll go back and forth about what dishes work with the theme of the meal, develop the recipes and then test them in our kitchen.” The whole process leading up to the dinners took months, but the fruits of chef’s labors at the Meadowood benefit could only be tasted on one of 12 memorable December nights in Napa Valley.

by Alexis deBoschnek

 

Pictured: Sam Levy
Photo by Bonjwing Lee

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