Current Schedule Chef-Instructors

Our Chef-Instructors come from a wide variety of culinary backgrounds, resulting in classes that are diverse and stimulating. We offer classes with well-known chefs from successful restaurants, cookbook authors, caterers and private chefs, wine experts, food purveyors, and other culinary authorities. In alphabetical order:

Dubbed the “Father of Wine Country Cuisine” John Ash opened his namesake restaurant, John Ash & Company, in 1980. It was the first restaurant in Northern California wine country to focus on local, seasonal ingredients that complemented the wines being made in the region. Nationally renowned as a wine and food educator, Chef John hosted two shows on the Food Network and has co-hosted a radio show for more than 36 years on KSRO 1350AM. John has written six books including the From the Earth to the Table: John Ash’s Wine Country Cuisine, American Game Cooking, the James Beard Award Winning John Ash Cooking One-on-One: Private Lessons in Simple Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher, the James Beard Award winning Culinary Birds and Cooking Wild. His newest book will be published in May called The Hog Island Sefood Book of Fish and Seafood. Chef John writes regularly for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and occasionally for other publications. John is a passionate supporter of sustainable food practices, having served for many years on the Board of the Chef’s Collaborative and on the Board of Advisors of Seafood Watch, an educational initiative for sustainable seafood by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Carrie Brown owns the landmark Jimtown Store, located in Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley, celebrated for its lusty country cooking and reinterpreted American desserts. Carrie is the coauthor of The Jimtown Store Cookbook, Recipes from Sonoma County’s Favorite Market that includes 150 of Jimtown’s earthy, full-flavored recipes with a special emphasis on stylish, casual entertaining. Carrie’s unique style and recipes have been featured in countless publications including Country Home, House & Garden, Food & Wine, and Sunset, and on television’s Martha Stewart Living and Food TV’s Ultimate Kitchen. Carrie is a knowledgeable and enthusiastic instructor who loves to share her creative and stylish entertaining and presentation ideas.

Although Dino Bugica was born in Reno, Nevada he still considers himself a "transplant" from Pisa, Italy. He grew up with the influence of his Italian mother and grandmother always cooking with fresh ingredients from his grandfather's ranch and farm. At 18, his passion for food and his heritage took him back to Italy where he lived and cooked for seven years, including stints at three restaurants, a Dutch chocolate maker and a butcher shop and salumerie. As the co-owner and chef at Diavola Pizzeria in Geyserville, Dino is passionate about authentic, old world Italian cuisine where everything from the pizza to the salumi and sausages is made from scratch.

David Campbell is president of the newly formed Mycological Society of Marin County.   He has been collecting, studying, eating, teaching and writing about wild mushrooms for over 45 years. He served more than a decade on council for the Mycological Society of San Francisco (MSSF), including 2 terms as president.  Primarily focused on edible and poisonous mushrooms, he has lead numerous fungal forays for MSSF and the Sonoma Mycological Association (SOMA) and is active with the San Francisco Poison Control Center for mushroom poisoning incident response in the greater Bay Area.  An expert mycophagist (one who safely eats a wide variety of wild mushrooms) and experienced outdoor group leader, David Campbell is the long-time Foray Director for Wild About Mushrooms Company, teaching basic mycology and organizing wild mushroom events and adventures around California and beyond.  His international tour company, MycoVentures, expands his horizons ever further; including truffle, mushroom, and wine tours in Italy and Croatia.

Deborah Dal Fovo is an accomplished Italian chef and culinary food and wine expert who mastered her culinary education hands-on while living in Italy for 20 years. Now based in the San Francisco Bay area, Deborah shares her vast Italian experience working as a private chef, cooking instructor, Italian culinary tour leader, and enthusiastic Italian ambassador of good taste. She appears frequently as guest chef on television shows, including The View from the Bay, and is currently writing a cookbook and developing her own cooking show concept. Watch Chef Deborah make Nona's Italian Apple Cake

Kristine Gallagher attended San Francisco City College and majored in Hotel and Restaurant Management. She has worked in Sonoma County for 25+ years, starting with a variety of local caterers and restaurants as she was steeped in the impressive foods of the region. She worked for herself for more than 10 years as a private event caterer and restaurateur, owning Savvy on First in Cloverdale until 2017. Kristine was the chef behind FARMSTAND at Farmhouse Inn and most recently is creating desserts and pastries in the Michelin-starred Farmhouse Inn kitchen. She believes in local food, supporting our local farms and farmers. Her love of entertaining is evident in her teaching and enjoyment of the love that food produces.

Doralice Handal has spent more than 20 years in the food industry, 15 of them in the cheese industry.  She is a trained chef who earned her chops at restaurants and hotels in the Bay Area and beyond.  Doralice worked in the cheese department at Whole Foods, Cowgirl Creamery, and created an import company before taking over The Cheese Shop of Healdsburg and being at the helm for the last 11 years. She now runs a consulting business, working with select wineries to set up cheese programs and staff training. She also parlays her years of cheese experience into leading classes on cheese traditions and producing creative culinary events.

A native Oklahoman, Jack Herron divided his chef training between Oklahoma State Universities in Okmulgee and Stillwater, earning a Bachelors in Hotel/ Administration. Jack was mentored by Chef Marc Dunham of the Ranchers Club in Stillwater where he was enlightened to pursue a path with deeper purpose: to make an impact on the future of food through wholisitc practices. Jack and his wife Katie moved west to Sonoma County in 2010 to start a 5-year tenure as the Executive Sous Chef at iconic master chef Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen. Jack is currently a co-founder of Eat It Make It Grow It, a working farm that sustains pastured American Heritage Guinea Hogs, Nigerian Dwarf Goats and a mobile Chicken coop, in rotation with a ‘no till’ soil management program to grow diverse ancient grains and Heirloom crops.

Lia Huber is the founder and CEO of the rich-content website Nourish Network and its companion small-group coaching program, My Nourish Mentor. Lia is also a widely published food writer and recipe developer for magazines like Cooking Light, Prevention and Health, and a rising food and nutrition personality both on-screen and in-person. In any format she tackles, Lia brings passion—and fun—to her message of nourishing body, soul and planet with every bite.

Michele Anna Jordan writes three popular columns about food and wine in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, is a regular contributor to The Wine Enthusiast and has written nearly 20 books to date, including her most recent Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings.  She hosts two radio shows, “Mouthful, the Wine Country’s Most Delicious Hour” and “Red Shoes Rodeo.”  Mouthful is available as a podcast at itunes and at npr.org. Michele worked as a chef for many years and was a restaurant critic, including for the San Francisco Chronicle, for fifteen years.  She has won numerous awards for both her cooking and her writing, including a James Beard Award. Currently, she writes full time, teaches, cooks for family and friends and studies traditional Hawaiian dance.  She is (always!) at work on several new books.

Danny Mai was raised in Vietnam in a small farming village. The culture in his village included street vendors who came by the neighborhood nightly with delicacies such as Pho, a Vietnamese staple soup. His greatest influence was from his grandmother who, as the town caterer, would gather the villagers together to make handmade plates, bowls and utensils from bamboo, coconut and anything else nature had to offer. Her influence formed the basis for his passion for food and events at an early age. Chef Danny brought that appreciation for fresh handmade food to Northern California as he started working in a variety of restaurants, including Santa Fe Mary’s and Left Bank with Laurent Pasol where he learned the intricacies of French cuisine. He was the executive chef at Tolay at the Petaluma Sheraton where he also managed the site's hotel kitchen for several years. Most recently, Chef Danny is the culinary driver behind the newly opened Persimmon in Healdsburg which features Asian cuisine with touches of France and Mexico.

Louis Maldonado attended the California Culinary Academy, beginning his career in the high-wattage kitchen of One Market, moving on as sous chef and co-executive chef at Cortez, which was awarded a Michelin star during Maldonado’s tenure. After stops at the famed French Laundry and Café Majestic, where he was named “Rising Star Chef” by San Francisco Chronicle, Maldonado worked for three years as chef de cuisine at the Michelin starred Aziza. Chef Louis ran the kitchen at both Spoonbar and Pizzando for five years, enjoyed a successful and historic run on Bravo's Top Chef and now is the executive chef at Mugnaini Wood-Fired Ovens.

Jeff Mall is the Executive Chef at ZIN Restaurant and Wine Bar. Jeff attended the University of San Francisco where he earned a degree in Hospitality Management. He then went on graduate from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Jeff moved back to Northern California and began working with chef/mentors of different disciplines, such as, Jeremiah Tower and Mark Franz at Stars Oakville Café, Bradley Ogden at Lark Creek/Walnut Creek, and Anne and David Gingrass at Hawthorne Lane in San Francisco. This variety of experience helped Jeff to develop his own vision for ZIN, featuring updated and enhanced American home cooking and farm fresh produce much of it from his own Eastside Farm).

Susan Mall attended the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and went on to work at some pretty great places in San Francisco. In LA, she worked for a combination of restaurants and catering companies, and found that she enjoyed the pace of catering much more than that of restaurants. In 1998 Susan moved to Healdsburg to run the kitchen at Oakville Grocery where she met Jeff. About six years ago they started farming and created Eastside Farm. Two years ago they were given 13 chickens which have multiplied to more than 100. Susan's alter-ego Chicken Mama shares her chicken and other farm escapades on her Eastside Farm Chronicles blog. She shares her expertise through backyard chicken classes to Slow Food members and other locals.

Hillary Mendoza is a Raw Food Chef and Kitchen Alchemist at the Nectary with a background in Ayurvedic Medicine and a passion for health and healing through diet and lifestyle practices. She began her journey with Raw Food and Ayurveda while studying Fiber Arts at Long Beach State University. She has a degree in Art as a painter and fiber artist, and loves to create art that reflects her healing practice as a means for deeper understanding of the mind-body connection. She then went on to the California College of Ayurveda to study deeper healing, graduating in 2015 as a Clinical Ayurvedic Specialist with an emphasis in Herbalism. She applies her Ayurvedic, Herbalist and Artistic background to the concept “Food is Medicine”.

A California boy, Todd Muir was born and raised in the small town of Sonora. He graduated from the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and landed a coveted spot at Alice Waters's Chez Panisse when Joyce Goldstein ran the line. He and his family opened the Madrona Manor in Healdsburg, California where his kitchen was recognized by Wine Spectator, earning a clutch of honors during his tenure. He opened Mangia Bene Italian restaurant in Healdsburg, established the outstanding food and wine program at St. Francis Winery and built the creative Wine Country Chefs catering enterprise. Always the inventor and adventurer, Chef Muir is now a freelance wine country chef and runs a food production business when he isn’t traveling the world.

Gerards Nebesky's interest in the culinary arts went hand-in-hand with his travels around the world. His adventure travels always include the goal of eating well while on the road, trail, summit, ocean or wherever he may end up. He became (by default) the trip cook which led him to perfect dishes that require as few pans as possible and easily procured ingredients. Paella was a favorite long before he became famous cooking for the crew of Desperate Housewives and Saturday Night Live and won a Throwdown with Bobby Flay on Food Network. You can find Gerard at any number of winery events, private parties and other festive gatherings with his Gerard's Paella business.

One of the most highly regarded chefs in America today, Charlie Palmer has received critical acclaim for his signature “Progressive American” cuisine, a style which reinterprets classic European cooking using American artisanal products and small farm producers. Beginning in 1988 with the opening of Aureole in New York, Charlie has combined his creative cooking spirit with his flair for business to establish an impressive roster of restaurants across the country, including the local Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg. Charlie is the author of three cookbooks, Great American Food, Charlie Palmer’s Casual Cooking, The Art of Aureole, and Charlie Palmer's Practical Guide to the New American Kitchen.

Chef Joyanne Pezzolo grew up in the midwest on a large farm in Wisconsin, sheering sheep, foraging and cooking fresh ingredients for family and farm staff. In the late 60s, a yearn for adventure pulled Joy and her family to to a commune in SF where she cooked family meals with chef Nancy Oakes, now of Boulevard in SF. She and Nancy opened their first restaurant the Barnacle in the SF Dogpatch before moving to Pat O'Shea's Irish Bar where they created much-lauded food for more than 10 years. After some time at the Golden Gate Yacht Club, she took over Ravenous in 1991 and offered sophisticated, hearty dishes well ahead of the culinary boom. Ravenous transformed more than once over its life, always with Joy at the helm creating delicious, creative food. her cooking combines her midwest roots with the use of seasonal flavors. She's now taking a breath, teaching at Relish and looking for new adventures.

Jamil Peden brings over 25 years of culinary experience and craftsmanship to his role as a chef-instructor at Relish. Early in his career, Jamil refined his craft and technique at several acclaimed restaurants, including the Madrona Manor and Campo Fina in Healdsburg, Woodfour Brewery in Sebastopol, Wolfgang Puck's Postrio in Las Vegas, and Syrah and Petite Syrah in Santa Rosa. Jamil lead the culinary team at Applewood Inn where he earned high praise from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the SF Chronicle. He then shifted his focus to curating intimate dinners for private clients and wineries for several years and was then recruited to be the opening chef at Flowers Vineyard and Winery's award-winning tasting room in Healdsburg. Since that time, he has returned to freelance work, again working with recognized wineries such as Aperture Cellars, Fort Ross Vineyards and Zialena, along with personal clients. Jamil loves sharing the wealth of his culinary knowledge with Relish guests.

Meagan Ricks works as a Raw Food Chef at The Nectary. At a young age, Meagan developed a passion for healthy eating and living, finding inspiration and energy from following a plant-based diet. She attended The Living Light Culinary Institute, where she received training and certification as a Raw Food Chef and Instructor, and certification as a Raw Food Nutrition Educator. After working as an instructor and raw vegan pastry chef for a number of years, Meagan continues to practice a plant-based lifestyle and personal development through healthful living.  She seeks to share her passion of creating raw vegan cuisine with others.

Ari Rosen grew up in Ukiah, foraging and cooking with his family. He worked at one Italian restaurant after another and was so drawn to food that he abandoned any ideas of going into law or medicine. After high school he spent time in the Piedmont region of Italy where his grandfather's family ran a restaurant. He returned to Italy after college and worked under chef Lorenzo Torrini where he learned both technical skills and artistic stylings. Upon returning to the US, he worked under local chef Franco Dunn at Santi. He opened Scopa in 2008 and Campofina in 2012, combining the restaurants into Campofina in 2017, and is well-recognized for his hand-crafted authentic Italian food.

Julie Schreiber has been collecting, cooking, and eating mushrooms for about 25 years.  For a number of those years she has also been teaching others about cooking and eating mushrooms.  Her background includes working as a chef and winemaker professionally.  Additionally, she has been on the Sonoma County Mycological Association (SOMA)board for 8 years and the chef for culinary events and demos at mushroom forays for David Arora, the Sonoma County Mycological Association(SOMA), the Mycological Society of San Francisco(MSSF), the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) and Wild About Mushrooms (WAM).

A walking melting pot, Oded Shakked winemaker and co-owner of Longboard Vineyards was born in Israel and raised on three continents. Growing up a hundred yards from the beach just north of Tel-Aviv, he was splashing in the Mediterranean by age two months, and later became one of the area's first surfers. While studying winemaking at UC Davis (can't beat the homework!), Oded worked harvests in Napa and in Bordeaux, but his heart was captured by the rich diversity of Sonoma County - the soils, the climate and the people. Passionate about his craft, Oded is also a great believer in perspective, saying, "Relax, it's only frickin' wine...enjoy it with food you like and trust nothing but your own palate." Oded is known not only for his winemaking prowess, but also for his appreciation and skill of great handcrafted foods. He continues to ferment, pickle, preserve and cook wonderful cuisine inspired by his homeland.

Tom Simoneau is a former country rocker turned grape grower, winemaker, wine marketer, educator, wine judge and critic—the living definition of “The Wine Guy.”  Tom farms 12 acres in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley and has transitioned from award-winning amateur wines to the 2005 launch of Simoneau Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon.  After winning the prestigious Sonoma County Harvest Fair Sweepstake Award for the Best Amateur Red Wine in 1992, Tom began broadcasting The Wine Minute on Santa Rosa’s News Talk 1350 KSRO where he is still heard daily. He is the director of sales for Windsor Vineyards and an adjunct professor at Santa Rosa Junior College where his wine education courses are perennial favorites.

Born and raised on the Chesapeake Bay, Mark Stark received his formal training at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. He created a sound foundation in Washington, D.C., with the Four Seasons Hotel, Maison Blanche and the City Club of Washington, then in Seattle with the Bellevue Club. Mark spent several years as a regional chef for the California Café Restaurant group as well as a corporate chef for Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurants. His desire to establish culinary roots and define his own style led him to Sonoma County where, with his wife Terri, he created Stark Reality Restaurants, including Willi’s Wine Bar in 2002, followed by Willi’s Seafood & Raw Bar in 2003, Monti's Rotisserie in 2004, Stark's Steakhouse in 2008, and the most recent Bird in the Bottle, all to rave reviews.

Danielle Steffener is the head Raw Food Chef at the Nectary since it opened in 2014. She started her journey as a chef in Ireland where her passion for food took off. She moved to NYC to develop her career with an emphasis on health and healing at The Natural Gourmet Institute where she evolved into plant-based nutrition. From there, she went on to complete an internship at Thomas Keller’s 3-Michelin star restaurant Per Se, his sister restaurant to French Laundry. After finishing school, she dove deep into raw food through juicing, growing sprouts, wheatgrass and organic vegetables to support her own health and the health of others. Afterwards, she became a chef at Dr. Gabriel Cousens' the Tree of Life: Raw Rejuvenation Center. She returned to Sebastopol to be the head chef at the Nectary, where she is currently working and creating raw healing foods for health and wellness.

Gayle Okamura Sullivan and her husband Brian (with son Patrick) own Dry Creek Peach and Produce in the heart of the Dry Creek Valley of Healdsburg. Surrounded by world-renown vineyards, Dry Creek Peach is the last remaining fruit farm in the valley and the only dedicated, certified organic peach farm in the county. Gayle and her family split their time between the peach farm and San Francisco where Gayle works as a pastry chef at Postrio restaurant. The Sullivans and their orchard have been featured in House and Garden and Savor Wine Country magazines.

Dustin Valette is the chef de cuisine at Charlie Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen. Chef Dustin is a native of Sonoma County, starting his culinary career in a winery kitchen at the age of 13. After studying at the Culinary Institite of America at Hyde Park, Chef Dustin worked at Michelin-starred Aqua in San Francisco and Napa Valley’s Bouchon and then traveled to Italy where he studied the art of cured meats. Dustin opened his own restaurant Vox outside of Las Vegas before being hired by Charlie Palmer for Dry Creek Kitchen, returning him to Sonoma County. At Dry Creek Kitchen, Dustin draws on the strong relationships he cultivated with local farmers and purveyors in order to provide the restaurant with the area’s freshest and most exceptional ingredients.

Justin Wangler grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, where he began working in restaurants before attending A. B. Tech Culinary School. Justin gained a true appreciation for food and wine pairing while testing recipes with David Rosengarten for his cookbook, It’s All American Food (Little, Brown & Company). Chef Justin came west and took a job at Napa Valley’s Culinary Institute of America in 1999, and in 2000, he moved to Saddleback Cellars in Napa Valley where his understanding of pairing food with wine was enhanced. After three years working with chef/owner Josh Silvers at Santa Rosa’s Syrah, Chef Justin took the reins as the Executive Chef at the renowned Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates where he creates memorable combinations of textures and flavor, finding a tremendous amount of inspiration and ingredients from the wine center's 2 1/2-acre culinary sensory gardens and local food producers.

Chef-Instructors from prior events