Wednesday, January 11, 7:00 pm
Members $90, guests $115

Outside of New York, people think winter in the Big Apple is dandy—there’s ice skating at Rockefeller Center, bundled-up carriage rides through Central Park, shops bedecked for the holidays, a city rendered pretty by a fresh dusting of pristine white snow. Hah! Pure Hollywood. Try living here in wind-chilly January, battling an inside-out umbrella in the icy rain, and navigating mucky black slush, and winter in the city loses its rosy glow. It’s enough to set us dreaming of California. The funny thing is, West Coast natives often lament missing the change of seasons—which may be why four great California chefs have agreed to bring us a taste of the Golden State.

At L.A.’s Napa Valley Grille, executive chef Anne Conness brings California wine country right to the heart of Tinseltown. Conness, who grew up in Northern California, took a few detours on her way to becoming a chef. After studying English in college and launching successful careers as both a painter and a television producer, Conness found her niche in the kitchen and enrolled in the Epicurean School of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles. She went on to cook at Chinois on Main, Campanile, Saddle Peak Lodge, Water Grill, and EM Bistro before taking her current position. Los Angeles Magazine celebrated Conness’s arrival, writing, “It’s a brand-new day at the Napa Valley Grille.”

This won’t be the first time Brooklyn native Frank Fronda brings a taste of California to the tristate area—he drew raves as executive chef at Napa Valley Grille’s Paramus outpost. Fronda trained at the New York Restaurant School and cooked at Palio, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Trustees Dining Room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now he captains the kitchen at the DiRoNA and Wine Spectator award–winning Café del Rey, which sits dockside at one of the world’s largest marinas.

Born outside of Oaxaca, Simon Hernandez was just 16 when he moved to Northern California. He found work as a dishwasher, but practiced knife skills in his spare time. He landed a job at California Café in 1998, where his boss took note of Hernandez’s nascent culinary skills and promoted him from dishwasher to salad maker. Hernandez worked his way up the line, ultimately taking on the role of executive chef at the Santa Clara location before returning to the Los Gatos outpost. For over a decade, Hernandez has been polishing California Café’s multicultural cuisine, and introducing new concepts like the innovative Bento-A-Go-Go kid’s menu.

William Woodward of the lauded Blackhawk Grille has dessert covered. Woodward got his start at Café De Long in Fresno, then studied pastry and baking at Sacramento’s Lederwolff Culinary Academy. He worked at Aziza, Ponzu, and Garibaldi’s on Presidio in San Francisco. Reviewing Blackhawk Grille, Nicholas Boer of Contra Costa Times wrote, “Woodward knows how to push the creative envelope without cutting himself on the edge.” As the kids in Cali might say, “Sweet.”