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It is hard to believe that the year has tipped once again, and I find myself hurling through time and space towards those dozen, wonder-filled days at the end. As I tap out these words, I count fewer than 15 days left at home between now and then, scraped together from a splinter of gaps between trips to Denmark, Greenland, both coasts, and points in between.
Christopher Kostow and The Restaurant at Meadowood will be hosting the Twelve Days of Christmas again this year. And, for the sixth time, I have the honor of photographing the series, which, like last year, will benefit the St. Helena Preschool for All, a nonprofit organization that, in partnership with five private preschools, provides pre-school readiness programs for four year-olds in the St. Helena Unified School District.
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This year’s roster is eclectic. The eleven guest chefs will come from seven countries outside of the United States. Among them is a Japanese chef cooking in France, a Danish chef cooking in Peru, and an Australian in Singapore. While I know a good half of them, I’m particularly excited to get to know the other half, especially Messrs. Amaro and Kim, and Msses. Seidler and Ros, who are unfamiliar to me.
Also notable is the fact that four of this year’s guest chefs are currently in transition, either having recently left a restaurant or are working towards opening their own restaurant in the coming months.
Reservations open today. No doubt, they will fill quickly. Visit The Restaurant at Meadowood’s reservation site for details, or click on the dates below for quick links to make a reservations on a specific night.
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December 7
JOSE ENRIQUE
Jose Enrique
San Juan, Puerto Rico
December 8
DAVID PYNT
Burnt Ends
Singapore, Singapore
December 11
JESSICA LARGEY
Simone (Opening in 2018)
Los Angles, California
December 12
JAMES LOWE
Lyle’s
London, The United Kingdom
December 13
KAMILLA SEIDLER
Formerly of Gustu in La Paz, Bolivia
December 14
BYUNG-JIN KIM
Gaon
Seoul, South Korea
December 15
WOJCIECH MODEST AMARO
Atelier Amaro
Warsaw, Poland
December 18
TREVOR MORAN and JUSTIN COGLEY
Moran: unannounced project in Nashville, Tennessee
Cogley: Aubergine in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
December 19
MICHAEL TUSK
Quince, Cotogna, and Verjus
San Francisco, California
December 20
ANA ROS
Hiša Franko
Kobarid, Slovenia
December 21
SOTA ATSUMI
Maison (Opening in 2019)
Paris, France
December 22
CHRISTOPHER KOSTOW
The Restaurant at Meadowood
St. Helena, California
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Over the past five years, I have attended 60 dinners at the Twelve Days of Christmas at The Restaurant at Meadowood. Below are links to my posts and photos from all of them. Each chef is listed with the restaurant with which they were cooking at the time they participated in the event (some have moved on to other projects and restaurants).
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)
2015
Daniel Humm (Eleven Madison Park, NoMad; New York, New York)
Nenad Mlinarevic (Focus; Vitznau, Switzerland)
Christian Puglisi (relæ; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Jorge Vallejo (Quintonil; Mexico City, Mexico)
Joshua Skenes (Saison; San Francisco, California)
Matthew Wilkinson (Pope Joan; Melbourne, Australia)
Kim Floresca and Daniel Ryan ([One]; Chapel Hill, North Carolina)
Isaac McHale (The Clove Club; London, The United Kingdom)
Kyle Connaughton (Single Thread; Healdsburg, California)
Atsushi Tanaka (A.T. Restaurant; Paris, France)
Justin Yu (Oxheart; Houston, Texas)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
2017
Mark Lundgaard Nielsen (Kong Hans Kælder; Copenhagen, Denmark)
Manish Mehrotra (Indian Accents; New Dehli, India; New York, New York; London, U.K.)
Jeremiah Stone & Fabián von Hauske Valtierra (Contra & Wildair; New York, New York)
Jeremy Fox (Rustic Canyon & Tallula’s; Santa Monica, California)
Ben Sukle (birch & Oberlin; Providence, Rhode Island)
Sean Brock (McCrady’s, McCrady’s Tavern, Husk, & Minero; Charleston, South Carolina)
Yoshiaki Takazawa (Takazawa; Tokyo, Japan)
Thomas Keller (The French Laundry; Yountville, California)
Eric Werner (Hartwood; Tulum, Mexico)
Jock Zonfrillo (Orana; Adelaide, Australia)
Alexandre Couillon (La Marine; Noirmoutier, France)
Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood; St. Helena, California)
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