Before Celebrate the Craft, Frank and I met The Lodge at Torrey Pines’ new culinary team, including executive chef Eric Sakai, A.R. Valentien chef de duisine Owen Beatty, pastry chef Jessica Valero and GM Edgar Fernandez.
We sampled Beatty’s tuna crudo, house-made agnolotti, king salmon and New York striploin, plus Valero’s corn crème brûlée and sweet melon pavlova. That meeting left us expecting a standout CtC event. After attending, we concluded it was the best CtC we had experienced.
Now in its 23rd year, CtC brings together California’s chefs, farmers, ranchers, vintners, brewers and artisans on The Lodge’s grounds above Torrey Pines Golf Course and the Pacific. Expanded tastings, demonstrations, entertainment, and poolside cocktails and desserts framed cooking that felt primal, rustic and artisanal.
Beatty prepared lamb piadina with caponata, an eggplant relish and preserved lemon, using lamb from whole rams as they roasted on a rotisserie over open flame in the background. He credited preparation, communication and mutual support for his team’s focused execution, which earned a positive response from guests, visiting chefs and staff.
Valero’s poolside dessert station was an action station. She assembled her Fig Leaf and Grape Mille-feuille in front of guests to keep its pastry crisp. Her offerings also included persimmon and almond gateau, chocolate and pecan profiterole, and K&K Ranch nut confections.
At the A.R. Valentien outdoor bar, Fernandez, Marcus, and Savannah presented two drinks. The Cliffhanger blended peppercorn-infused Herradura Reposado with rum, rye and fortified Sangiovese dessert wine. A clarified nonalcoholic Campari Spritz paired blackberry, passion fruit and orange with tonic.
Frank and I began at À L’ouest, Trust Restaurant Group’s North Park French concept. Chef-owner Brad Wise served red oak-smoked Snake River Farms steak with bone marrow au poivre, watercress and mashed potatoes. John Rice, Far Niente Western region sales manager, poured the 2023 Nickel & Nickel Solinger Vineyard Cabernet, a returning favorite, and 2024 Far Niente Chardonnay.
DAOU Vineyards’ Eryn Schnitzler poured Seventeen Forty. Its 2022 vintage marked the wine’s first broader release beyond direct-to-consumer, special events and dinners. Cabernet sauvignon leads the traditional Bordeaux-style blend vs. the previous merlot-cab franc blend.
Clique Hospitality executive chef and partner Jojo Ruiz served McCuda filet with homemade potato chips. Roman Palumbo, Shafer Vineyards’ Western region sales director, poured Red Shoulder Ranch Chardonnay, great with the McCuda, and One Point Five Cabernet Sauvignon.
Robin Henkel’s three-piece blues band energized the afternoon. A four-time San Diego Music Award winner for Best Blues, he has opened for B.B. King.
Juan Gonzales kept the primal theme alive with cabrito al pastor cooked on vertical racks for tacos with blue corn tortillas. His Escondido restaurant, Mesa Agrícola, made the New York Times’ 2026 list of 50 favorite U.S. restaurants, one of just three California restaurants recognized. Gonzales and his wife, Megan Storm, connect farm and kitchen, with Storm growing the food he cooks.
Choosing a favorite wine was nearly impossible, but Perus’ Alessio 2021 Red Blend stood out. Lindsey Gomes, director of sales and client relations, also poured Bryn 2022, a 100% cabernet sauvignon from Tench and Sage Ridge vineyards, with just 300 cases produced.
Alessio, limited to 100 cases, blends 60% Tench Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon with 20% Sugarloaf Mountain Merlot and 20% Sugarloaf Mountain Cabernet Franc. Its three-variety blend offered a distinctive contrast to Bryn’s pure cabernet sauvignon.
I made a point of stopping at Brian Redzikowski’s Kettner Exchange station. The award-winning corporate executive chef served lamb barbacoa over corn porridge, finished with pickled red onions, cilantro and chili crisp. Redzikowski oversees menu development across SDCM’s six concepts, including Encinitas’ The Waverly, a restaurant we plan to review soon.
Other standout wines included: Silver Oak, Chateau Montelena, Schramsberg, Davies, Sinegal, Beaulieu Vineyard and ZD Wines. The culinary lineup also featured: Food Network star Claudia Sandoval; Gambero Rosso Tre Forchette awardee Accursio Lota, for Dora and Cori Pastificio; Vince Schofield, Drew Deckman, John Beber and Marites Cotillon of The Lodge; and Bryan Stuppy of Catamaran’s Oceana Coastal Kitchen. We managed a taste or bite at most stations, though not all.
One last bite stayed with me, Jack Ford’s Taj Farm goat milk gelato. Salted caramel incorporated beef tallow and a Maker’s Mark topping. Mixed berry mascarpone was finished with port.
After the event, Beatty and I agreed his new fall menu merited a return. Last week, my wife, Mary, and I joined him to taste shareable appetizers. Pear salad paired lettuces with Saint André cheese, parsnip chips and hazelnuts.
Bigeye tuna crudo came with wild mushrooms, bonito mayonnaise and saba oil flowing across the plate like a live art piece. Grilled lobster combined foraged mushrooms, winter squash, lime and caramelized honey. We also shared mandilli di seta, house-made pasta cut via decorative cutters, with truffle, Fontina cheese and wild mushrooms.
Autumn spice ran through the dishes, each a delicious reason to visit A.R. Valentien.
— Rico Cassoni
Wine Bytes
The Godfather Restaurant presents a five-course Austin Hope Wine Dinner Thursday, Nov. 19. The main course is slow-cooked lamb ossobuco served on a bed of risotto is paired with cabernet sauvignon. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. Tickets are $135 per person and includes tax and gratuity. RSVP at godfatherrestaurant.com.
Rico Cassoni is executive producer for Taste of Wine and Food. He and founder/advisor Frank Mangio, a renowned wine connoisseur certified by Wine Spectator, are two of the leading reviewers on the web. Reach them at [email protected].
