save the dates: the twelve days of christmas (2015)…

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Thirty-six meals and tens of thousands of photos ago, I arrived at Meadowood Napa Valley for my first Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood.  In the three, short years since, I have had the pleasure of watching it grow into a celebrated event with an increasingly global reach.

For twelve truly enviable nights of food and drink, the international culinary spotlight moves to this quiet, wooded corner of California, highlighting a cultural exchange among chefs, and bringing awareness to a couple of great causes.

Like last year, this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas benefits two local charities, the Holly Cranston Memorial Fund, as well as the Napa Emergency Women’s Services (NEWS).

And, as in past years, this year’s roster of guest chefs represents a diverse number of culinary perspectives.  Not only do they comprise the most internationally diverse group of chefs in the event’s history (with seven countries represented), but, from what I know of them, they offer twelve very different styles of cooking.

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Although quite a few of this year’s guest chefs are familiar to me – acquaintances and friends, even; I’ve been to the restaurants of seven of this year’s twelve chefs – more than any other year that I’ve attended the Twelve Days of Christmas, this year’s list includes quite a few strangers.  So, I look forward to being reacquainted and reunited with those chefs whom I know, and meeting the ones I do not.

I have the immense pleasure of photographing and attending this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas again.  And, as in years past, I intend to report about all of the dinners here.   Perhaps I’ll see you in Napa in December.  [For reservation information, please see Paolo Lucchesi’s post about this year’s event at Inside Scoop SF.]

Below, you’ll find the schedule and roster of this year’s Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood hosted by chef Christopher Kostow and his team, as well as a hyperlinked index to all thirty-six past dinners that I have recorded on my blog.

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Friday, December 4
DANIEL HUMM
Eleven Madison Park
New York, New York

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Saturday, December 5
NENAD MLINAREVIC
Restaurant Focus
Vitznau, Switzerland

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Tuesday, December 8
CHRISTIAN PUGLISI
Relæ
Copenhagen, Denmark

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Wednesday, December 9
JORGE VALLEJO
Quintonil
Mexico City, Mexico

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Thursday, December 10
JOSHUA SKENES
Saison
San Francisco, California

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Friday, December 11
MATT WILKINSON
Pope Joan
Melbourne, Australia

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Saturday, December 12
KIM FLORESCA and DANIEL RYAN
[ONE] restaurant
Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Tuesday, December 15
ISAAC McHALE
The Clove Club
London, The United Kingdom

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Wednesday, December 16
KYLE CONNAUGHTON and KATINA CONNAUGHTON
Single Thread (opening fall 2015)
Healdsburg, California

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Thursday, December 17
ATSUSHI TANAKA
Restaurant A.T.
Paris, France

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Friday, December 18
JUSTIN YU
Oxheart Restaurant
Houston, Texas

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Saturday, December 19
CHRISTOPHER KOSTOW
The Restaurant at Meadowood
Saint Helena, California

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The following is a list of all thirty-six Twelve Days of Christmas dinners that I have attended in the past three years at The Restaurant at Meadowood.  The name of each chef is hyperlinked to my blog post about their respective dinner.

2012

Scott Anderson (Elements; Princeton, New Jersey)
John & Karen Shields (Formerly of Townhouse; Chilhowie, Virginia)
Phillip Foss (EL Ideas; Chicago, Illinois)
Stuart Brioza & Nicole Krasinski (State Bird Provisions; San Francisco, California)
Jason Franey (Canlis Restaurant; Seattle, Washinton)
Matthias Merges (Yusho; Chicago, Illinois)
Mori Onodera (Formerly of Mori Sushi; Los Angeles, California)
James Syhabout (Commis; Oakland, California)
Nick Anderer (Maialino; New York, New York)
David Toutain (Agapé Substance; Paris, France)
Josh Habiger & Erik Anderson (The Catbird Seat; Nashville Tennessee)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)

2013

Andy Ricker (Pok Pok, Portland, Oregon & New York, New York)
Rodolfo Guzman (Boragó; Santiago, Chile)
Carlo Mirarchi (Blanca and Roberta’s; Brooklyn, New York)
Tim Cushman (O Ya; Boston, Massachusetts)
Ashley Christensen (Poole’s Diner; Raleigh, North Carolina)
David Chang (Momofuku; New York, New York)
Matthew Accarrino (SPQR; San Francisco, California)
Mark Ladner & Brooks Headley (Del Posto; New York, New York)
Rasmus Kofoed (Geranium; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Nicolaus Balla & Cortney Burns (Bar Tartine; San Francisco, California)
David Kinch (Manresa; Los Gatos, California)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)

2014

Matthew Orlando (Amass; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Frank Castranovo & Frank Falcinelli (Frankies 457, Prime Meats; New York, New York)
Kobe Desramaults (In de Wulf; Dranouter, Belgium)
Alexandre Gauthier (La Grenouillère; La Madelaine-sous-Montreuil, France)
Blaine Wetzel (Willows Inn; Lummi Island, Washington)
Joshua McFadden (Ava Gene’s; Portland, Oregon)
Virgilio Martinez (Central; Lima, Peru)
Grant Achatz (Alinea; Chicago, Illinois)
Corey Lee (Benu; San Francisco, California)
Esben Holmboe Bang (Maaemo; Oslo, Norway)
Ignacio Mattos (Estela; New York, New York)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)

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Photos: The misty green at Meadowood Napa Valley, St. Helena, California; Corey Lee presents his menu, along with Christopher Kostow, at the 2014 Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, California.