Kathleen Hill: Victoria Campbell on the move, Umbria retirement plans and more
SVMA Art Night tonight
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art invites everyone to Art Night tonight, Sept. 7 with fun art-making tables. Street food by Luis Bos will include quesadillas, tostadas, and churros! Unique signature cocktails provided by Puente Internacional. Live Latin rhythms by VL Trio and a last look at the exhibit “Private Landscapes and Public Territories: Botanicals, Archives and Libraries in the Work of Amalia Mesa-Bains.” $35 pubic, $25 members. 6 to 9 p.m. 551 Broadway, Sonoma. 939-7862.
Victoria Campbell leaves Ramekins
Ramekins' General Manager Victoria Campbell has left the building to join Jon Sebastiani's Sonoma Brands, where she will help relaunch Viansa Winery.
Campbell said when she joined Ramekins slightly more than four years ago that Ramekins was her dream “forever job.” Now she is “so excited to work with Sonoma Brands,” where she has “a true admiration of Jens (Hoj) and Jon (Sebastiani).” She looks to a new opportunity to help build another business to its potential.
Campbell repeated that her change is “so bittersweet.” She has guided Ramekins, the General's Daughter and Cornerstone into growing companies with admirable reputations.
We first met when Campbell was Culinary Director at Sonoma Raceway, as she redid their café menu, and we worked together to plant an organic garden that we hoped would provide vegetables and fruit for the café and some of their raceway food booths.
Nobody works harder than Victoria Campbell. She could be seen setting up early, and folding chairs late at night after an event at Cornerstone, driving and unloading a U-Haul box truck to deliver food and goods during last October's fires, making sure food was served appropriately at Ramekins or the General's Daughter, and personally advising brides and grooms at weddings held at all three venues – all with grace, kindness and humor.
Umbria owner might retire
Giulio Tempesta, owner of Umbria restaurant next to the Jack London Saloon in Glen Ellen, might retire at the end of December and turn management of the restaurant over to a management company. After 42 successful years in the restaurant business in San Francisco and Glen Ellen, Tempesta says he loves Glen Ellen but maybe it's time to do something else. And, yes, he is the former brother-in-law of the much-beloved late Bonnie Tempesta.
Market senior discounts
Whole Foods Sonoma announced that it is discontinuing its Tuesday senior discount (12 percent), which it had maintained to compete with Sonoma Market. It takes effect Oct. 1. If you want to voice your concern over this new policy please call 844-936-8255. It is the Whole Foods customer service, a real person. Sonoma Market told me by phone that “We have absolutely no plans to change our Tuesday senior-discount policy” at 10 percent.
Nomad Chic goes to South Africa
Linda Hamilton, owner of Nomad Chic at Cornerstone, will take 24 guests on a “South African Culinary Safari” dinner without leaving Cornerstone on Thursday, Sept. 13. Hamilton has shops in both Cornerstone Sonoma and in Todos Santos, Mexico and is a happy “nomad” world traveler herself.
Chef Elizabeth Binder will prepare shaved cured biltong (dried cured meat) with crispy chili bites, goat cheese miele bread with watermelon, peppadew peppers and watercress salad, smoky braised lamb shoulder with chakalaka relish and buttered pap, and Cape brandy pudding with red Rooibos tea, thought to have medicinal powers. Bring your own beer, wine or other. Vegetarians accommodated with notice.
Binder grew up in Durban, South Africa, and worked in restaurants in London, Sydney, the French Alps, and to the San Francisco Bay Area where she worked with Traci des Jardina, Douglas Keane, Richard Reddington and Loretta Kellar, with stints at the French Laundry and Chez Panisse. She also co-owned Bar Bambino in the Mission District and now has Hand-Crafted Catering in Napa.
Hamilton has moved the dinner table to one long one down the center of the Cornerstone Courtyard between the shops, which is more protected and has good romantic lighting at night. Never fear for those who went last year and froze in the wind and dark of night in the Sunset test kitchen area. $125. 6:30 p.m. 23570 Arnold Drive, Suite B. Tickets at nomadchic.mx under dinner series or via linda@nomadchic.mx.
This was a rather different sort of Labor Day weekend
Whether making car parts, picking fruit, changing beds and cleaning toilets, pounding nails, washing dishes, stocking produce, fixing air conditioners, building cars, writing stories, or pouring cement, those who labor to make everyone's lives better deserve respect. Let's think of them, and all of us, whenever we enjoy the fruits of their or our labor.
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