Hello everyone:

Please join us for our first west Sonoma County event this Friday, November 12th from 6:30 to 8:30..or longer!

We’ve had ‘Wine and Stories’ at Kelley and Young Winery and ‘Shakin’ It from the Road’ at Snake Oil Coffee, Elixirs and Frozen Mixers and now we have ‘Corks and Stories.’ Corks restaurant at Russian River Vineyard has graciously opened their doors for Shine The Light’s next event. Chef Todd Davies will prepare a delicious and educational food and wine pairing for us in our own room at their gorgeous restaurant. As always it’s a $15.00 donation to Shine The Light and you taste Todd’s incredible appetizers and sip some delicious wine and learn all about pairing wine with food. You then stay and relax and have your dinner (not included in the $15.00 donation, of course)-contact information is below- while I chat about the road trip I went on this year interviewing kids all across the country and bring you all up to date on the incredible progress we are making with program development.

When you make your reservation for dinner, be sure to say it’s for the non-profit. This is the first event in west county and I look forward to seeing you all there!

https://www.russianrivervineyards.com/reserve.htm

707-887-3344

Here is some information about Chef Todd:

RUSSIAN RIVER VINEYARDS WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE CHEF TODD DAVIES
July, 2010
Russian River Vineyards is proud to introduce Todd Davies as the new Executive Chef at Corks Restaurant. It’s the perfect pairing for both of us.

For Todd, it’s a chance to cook in Sonoma County’s Wine Country, where fresh and organic locally-produced ingredients are plentiful.

For Russian River Vineyards, it’s an opportunity to work with a talented and inspired chef who values our award-winning wines and creates dishes that complement the quality and care we put into them. We invite you to an exceptional experience.

“My passion for everything culinary was inspired by being in what I consider one of the greatest food and wine environments in the world. The exceptional quality of products from the surrounding area is a chef’s dream.”

Chef Davies, 44 years old and a native of Boise, Idaho, graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and worked for the renowned Charlie Palmer and David Burke at The River Café in New York and then at La Truffe Restaurant in Philadelphia. He subsequently came to San Francisco and joined the Flying Saucer as Executive Chef for owner Albert Tordjman before opening two restaurants for Jeremiah Tower and then landing a Partner/Executive Chef position at Lark Creek Inn in Larkspur, California, where he was named one of the “Bay Area’s Top Ten Up-And-Coming Chefs” by the San Francisco Examiner. After spending time at the venerable White Elephant Hotel in Nantucket, he again headed west, to Bertrand at Mister A’s in San Diego, heralded by San Diego Magazine and the California Restaurant Association as the “Best New Restaurant in 2000.” Davies later returned to San Francisco where, most recently, he was the Executive Chef at mc².