Lauren Kershner: the triple threat

When Lauren Kershner launched Songbird Parlour, it marked the third business for the 33-year-old entrepreneur. Opened in 2021, the modern Victorian event venue is reminiscent of an era when glamorous people, artists and writers gathered in salons to appreciate good conversation and laughter.

Besides Songbird Parlour, Kershner owns a private chef and catering business called Goodness Gracious Catering as well as a boutique kombucha business called Valley of the Moon Kombucha.

Kershner trained in classic French technique at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy in Portland, Oregon, before spending 10 years working fine dining restaurants in Napa and Sonoma. She started Goodness Gracious in 2016 where she spread her culinary wings, incorporating her love of locally farmed and produced foods with inspirations from her travels around the world experiencing culinary traditions.

She traveled to Morocco before the pandemic hit where she took cooking classes. Of all her travels, she found it the most unique and was struck by how things could be so similar and yet so different. “Mosques with loud speakers and women covering their faces was so different to me, and yet they were cooking with the same ingredients and techniques and people loved getting together around a meal,” she said. “People from cultures all around the world love to gather around a meal.”

Her farm-to-table cuisine has an international flare, as she seeks to inspire her patrons to appreciate the bounty of Wine Country as well as flavors found abroad. She first began experimenting with cooking and preserving foods she was helping to grow in her family’s garden in Mendocino when she was just 13 years old.

“I just started cooking through my mom’s old Betty Crocker cookbook,” she said.

She graduated early, at 17, to attend Le Cordon Bleu the next year. “I didn’t know what I was doing at all when I went to culinary school,” she said.

By the time she finished her training, however, she knew she had a natural talent for cooking. She also knew she wanted to find work in Napa Wine Country.

“I didn’t even know that Sonoma was a thing back then,” she said with a laugh.

She started with a job at Calistoga Ranch in 2009 and has been working in Napa and Sonoma County ever since. While working at Beltane Ranch, the historic bed and breakfast in Glen Ellen, she helped to launch its culinary garden and program. This is where she found her true calling in farm-to-table cuisine, and fell in love with Glen Ellen.

“I love being a part of the community,” she said. “It’s where I found my voice as a chef.”

Kershner said it’s not the produce or the wine itself that excites her most, although she loves bringing them all to the table. “It’s the people behind the scenes who are growing the food or making the wine. When I go to the farmers market on Fridays, I know most of the farmers personally and it’s such a pleasure to see them in the morning and say hello,” she said. “I love going to the Oak Hill stand and asking them about what’s growing. We talk about recipes and what’s going to be good to use in them. It’s a social thing and it also kind of feels like family. I’m really immersed into the culture of it.”

Kershner feels it’s important to acknowledge all the people who are doing the really hard work behind the scenes in Wine Country, getting their hands dirty creating the food and wine we enjoy.

With her Valley of the Moon Kombucha business, she’s the one behind the scenes doing that work. “I have been a big fan of kombucha for several years now and really believe in its healing properties,” she said. “I’m a big advocate of helping people replace soda, which I got from people up in Mendocino.”

She produces around 20 gallons of kombucha a month and plans to increase that in the future, but she enjoys creating small batches of the boutique kombucha herself.

During the pandemic Valley of the Moon Kombucha became a passion project and a way of giving back. “It’s not technically a nonprofit but we donate one dollar from every bottle to organizations that uplift and empower women,” she said.

She appreciates the relationships she has built with the owners of different wineries and other venues across the area but also wanted her own space with a commercial kitchen and bar to host events. She was quickly enamored of the vintage building that now houses Songbird Parlour.

The parlour’s building was built in 1839. “It was actually Mexico back then,” she said.

She looked around at what was happening during that time in Europe and here in the west and she felt that a modern Victorian atmosphere would fit the space nicely.

The business is available to rent for events and comes with a full staff. Kershner said she didn’t expect Songbird Parlour to host many weddings since the wineries are a popular venue for weddings, but it recently hosted a beautiful wedding utilizing the cascading decks outside. Along with birthday parties, wedding after-parties and bridal showers, there has been plenty of interest in Songbird Parlour.

“Each of her businesses is unique and different but they all tie together in subtle ways that highlight her creativity, vision and culinary expertise,” said Mark Bodenhamer, CEO of the Sonoma Valley Chamber of Commerce. “Her projects always are fun and accessible to everyone but also have an upscale presentation that works for guests seeking a more formal tone.”

Kershner really enjoys cooking as a private chef and caterer and said she’s been humbled by guests who have literally applauded her work. She is especially fond of weddings. “They’re so beautiful, sometimes they make me cry,” she said. “With catering, it’s like you’re always in a new environment and dealing with the challenges of the space, so it keeps things interesting and fun.”

These days, Kershner has a very full plate and is juggling a lot of responsibility. Beyond her own businesses, she’s helping to elevate all entrepreneurs as the president of the Sonoma Young Professionals, a network of the Chamber of Commerce.

“Her leadership helped bring energy back into the group and we’ve greatly appreciated her efforts to ensure the program has tangible value for young professionals beyond the fun of simply gathering at social events,” said Bodenhamer. “We’re proud of the direction the program is heading and much of that is due to Lauren’s efforts.”

She said she’s lucky to have a support network of other people who she says are in the same boat. “We kind of feed off of each other, you know, we just talk or try and schedule days off together,” she said.

She added, “I’m still figuring it out. I tend to bite off more than I can chew but I definitely have the energy and the passion so I’m learning as I go along. It is a lot of work but it’s very rewarding and I love that I get to learn something new every day.”