Kathleen Hill: Olive & Vine moves to Sonoma, Gloria Ferrer Wine & Movie Night and more foodie news
Olive & Vine will be moving from Glen Ellen to near the Sonoma Plaza later this year. Great news for all, except maybe for regulars who live in Glen Ellen.
Owners chef Catherine Venturini and husband and sommelier John Burdick are extremely excited about their new building, the location of which I am sworn to secrecy. They will let us know when it is ready to open.
But for now, Catherine and crew will continue to cook up a storm at their Jack London Village location, and they also have a new catering kitchen. After they leave Glen Ellen Feb. 20, they will do pop-up dinners, winery events, Transcendence Broadway Under the Stars, Fresh Paint, Wine Country Weekend and much more. Their new catering and event company is called Cuvée Wine Country Events with offices and kitchen in Kenwood.
In their spare time, Venturini and Burdick are dreaming of a romantic cookbook about themselves and their mutual love of food and wine. Reserve now to get your fix at the current Olive & Vine before they make their super-?positive move. 14301 Arnold Drive, Glen Ellen. 996-9152 or info@oliveandvine.com and cuveewinecountryevents.com.
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Gloria Ferrer hosts an interesting wine and movie night Saturday, Jan. 16 in the winery’s caves, screening the wonderfully informative “Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story,” shown at and loaned by the Sonoma International Film Festival. Vancouver residents Jenny Rustemeyer and Grant Baldwin take viewers through their six months of foraging through dumpsters and outdated groceries to illustrate how much food we waster. If you haven’t seen it, please do. $15 includes glass of bubbly and snacks, $10 wine club members. 7 p.m. 23555 Highway 121, Sonoma. 260-5620.
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Ramen Wednesdays at Suite D:
After trying out a sample dinner on 50 delighted sisters of Rural Chicks, a fun learning association of women farmers, Sondra Bernstein announces that her Suite D pop-ups will expand to ramen dinners every Wednesday night from now through March 30.
Dinner includes a small cucumber or mung bean sprout salad, a choice of ramen with either a chicken or vegetable base made by Chef John Toulze, with a choice of either meat or veggie toppings, and dessert. Last week Rural Chicks enjoyed a pear-sake ice cream cone, but that is not guaranteed. All this for $15 prepaid at figsuited.com or $20 cash only at door. Bring your own wine or beer, no corkage, or purchase wine or beer, cash only as well. 6 to 8 p.m. Drop in only, no reservations. Figsuited.com.
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Meanwhile, the girl & the fig is closed for its annual spiff-up. The girl & the fig has a new driveway going in to prepare for adding two new accessible restrooms in the back and expects to re-open next week. Too many trucks.
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Harvest Moon’s fabulous pastry chef and co-owner Jen Demarest, already well known for her desserts, started baking and serving both savory and sweet breakfast goodies and coffee and tea yesterday, Jan. 14. Have we needed this! Jen and Nick Demarest met at the CIA in Hyde Park, traveled as chefs, and landed in Sonoma. Previously she was pastry chef at La Toque in Napa. 7:30 to 11 a.m. 487 First St. W., Sonoma. 933-8160.
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Reminders: The Sonoma Community Center holds its 9th annual Chili Bowl Express at lunch and dinner on Saturday, Jan. 16 to raise funds to support its popular Ceramics Department. Artists and craftspeople have made all of the bowls, and by paying $25 you get one of the handcrafted bowls and a chance to fill it twice with chili made by several local chefs.
The Community Center has lined up chefs such as Lisa Lavagetto and Kyle Kuklewski of Ramekins, Gayle and Tom Jenkins of Sonoma’s Best (six gallons of chili), La Casa, Cristina Topham, Vine Dining, Sonoma Golf Club, Jameson, the girl & the fig, Q Craft BBQ, Mara Adelman, Sonoma Market and Sonoma Valley Grange to make the chili, so you are in for some good tastes in artful bowls. They could still use some cornbread baking volunteers. $25. Noon to 2 p.m. or 5 to 7 p.m. 276 E. Napa St., Sonoma. Tickets at 938-4626. Sonomacommunitycenter.com.
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Chef Charlotte Clement Haycraft, whom some of us have met via Chateau Sonoma trips to Chateau Dumas in southwestern France, will come to Sonoma to give a much anticipated demonstration cooking class at Ramekins Culinary School on Feb. 5.
A few places are left for Charlotte’s demo, which will include Vin d’apero made with winter leaves; bonbons of foie gras and truffles; a trio of patés: Campagne, mushroom, and olive and hazlenuts; ballotine of chicken (stuffed), gratin dauphinoise; soufflés of winter vegetables; her Epiphany tart with orange and ginger ice creams; and Financiers (small almond flour cakes).
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