I grew up in Poland where, at the time, living in tune with the seasons and nature was not a lifestyle choice, but the only way people knew how to survive.  There were no supermarkets or processed food, or food processors, for that matter.   Everything was made by hand, from scratch, using the bounty of the land one lived on.  Family meals were important time, when everyone gathered to tell stories and be grateful for the day's harvest.  I still feel strongly about the association of food and storytelling, the harvest and thanksgiving.  

My general cooking philosophy is to keep it simple and let the ingredients speak for themselves. Just as some of the best wine in the world is about the purity of the fruit, I believe that the best food in the world is about purity of the ingredient.

I have therefore developed close relationships with farmers, butchers and fishmongers so that I can obtain the highest possible quality of food products. I do prefer to work with local/seasonal ingredients; however, if I can obtain a higher quality from another state or country, I will source and bring the best to my guests.

For me, what matters the most is flavor and preservation of the inherent quality of the product. I believe this philosophy works particularly well with food and wine matching, as the simplicity of the food that I make does not overwhelm the wine, but rather supports it.  And the wine, similarly, brings out the flavor of the food. 

One of my signature dishes is a three inch thick custom cut prime porterhouse steak from Bryan Flannery . Due to the fact that the tenderloin side of the porterhouse cooks faster than the strip side, I serve this dish in two courses, each with a different wine. The tenderloin is carved of the bone when ready and served matched with softer tannin, or possibly aged, wine; in the meantime, the steak continues cooking till the strip side is ready. The strip side of the porterhouse is then served, as a second course, matched with a bit more assertive, perhaps a younger Napa Valley Cabernet. I  served this dish at some Napa wineries where younger Cabernet was paired with the strip and aged first growth Bordeaux complemented the tenderloin. This meal is not just some of the best steak available but it is also a conversation piece on how different texture and marbling in various cuts of beef interact with different structures of wine. I do like to turn each dish into a story and I enjoy sharing these stories with my guests. 

After much searching I have developed close friendship with a local chicken farmer whose Buckeye chicken flavor transports me back to France.  Also, this dedicated farmer started raising heritage breed pigs, and I have a standing order for a few suckling pigs.   

One of my favorite seafood purveyors is Togue who overnights freshly plucked diver scallops through her company Maine Dayboat Scallops. 

For hand milled organic heirloom grains and flour I relay on the good folks from Anson Mills.

While I take advantage of abundant produce in the many farmer's markets in Napa and Sonoma, for organic staple I often turn to Full Belly Farms.  

sample lunch menus

Iceberg Wedge, Blue Cheese & Bacon

Green Bean Salad

Grilled Sliced Steak with Rosemary and Garlic

Brown Butter Cookies

Butter Lettuce, Fine Herbs & Champagne Vinaigrette

Green Couscous with Pistachios and Arugula (inspired by Chef Yotam Ottolenghi)

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Fresh Herbs & Garlic

Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies (inspired by Jacques Torres)

Grilled Vegetable Parfait, Goat Cheese & Pesto

Summer Corn Pudding

Roasted Crispy Skin Wild Salmon

Strawberry Shortcake with Chantilly Cream

Watermelon, Tomato, Cucumber & Basil

German Potato Salad with Whole Grain Mustard

Roasted Loin of Pork stuffed with Brandied Plum, Truffle Sauce (inspired by my mother)

Vanilla Pound Cake

Roasted Corn, Tomato & Cucumber with Lemon Vinaigrette (inspired by legendary Cipriani)

Cinnamon Scented Couscous with Fruits & Almonds

Moroccan Lamb Braised with Tomato, Apricot & Preserved Lemon

Macaroons

Lettuce, Tomato & Onion with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Pearl Barley and Mushrooms (inspired by my mother)

Eggplant Parmigiana

Chocolate Brownies

Chopped Salad

Roasted Beets and Carrots with Orange Supremes

Truffled Macaroni and Cheese

Chocolate Truffles

sAMPLE dinner MENUS

Burrata with New Olive Oil and Easter Radishes

Hawaiian Prawns Roasted in Butter, Garlic and Parsley

Milk Fed Veal Chop with Grilled Radicchio and Delta Asparagus

Grilled Pineapple with Vanilla Ice Cream

Duck Three Ways:

2 Month Aged Confit with Lentils, Fresh Greens, and Mustard Dressing (inspired by Larousse Gastronomique)

Foie Gras Ravioli with Foie Gras Cream Sauce

Crispy Breast with Potato Gratin and Spiced Cranberries

Chocolate Hazelnut Torte

Tomato Bread With Iberico de Bellota Ham (inspired by numerous trips to Barcelona)

Bodega Bay Salmon with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Coastal Young Lamb Chops with Roasted Grape Tomatoes (insprired by trip to San Sebastian)

Summer Pudding (from Johnny Apple’s Far Flung and Well Fed)

Tuna Carpaccio over Foie Gras Pate (inspired by Le Bernardin)

Rainbow of Beets Roasted in Salt Crust Brushed with Brown Butter (inspired by Chef Alain Passard)

Flannery Prime Rib Cap with Pomme Bernaise (Inspired by Buenos Aires’ La Brigada & Paris’ L’Ami Louis)

Andante Cheeses with Honeycomb

Salad of Frisee and Pomegranate over Carpaccio of Persimmon, Pomegranate and Walnut Emulsion

Sea Bream Roasted in Salt Crust (from numerous trips to Sicily)

Flannery’s Prime Porterhouse Steak in Two Courses, Caramelized Sunchoke and, Haricot Vert

Quince Tart

Chopped Salad with Mayer Lemon Vinaigrette

Spinach Lasagna Bolognese

Flannery's Prime Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine, Parsnip Puree and Brown Butter Spinach (inspired by Chef Scott Bryan)

German Chocolate Cake

Bistro Classics

Escargot with Garlic, Butter and Parsley

Coq au Vin Jaune Made with Buckey Rooster

Cassoulet with Tarbais Beans, Aged Confit and House Made Sausages (inspired by La Tupina in Bordeax)

Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice Cream