BY STEPH KEAY
HauteCUISINE
SEASONALITY, SUPPORTING LOCAL, AND ... SQUASH? One Sonoma chef is taking “farm to table” to the next level with “plant to plate”—one Koginut squash at a time.
ON A CRISP FALL EVENING, I PULL THROUGH THE GATES OF THE beautifully appointed Bricoleur Vineyard in Windsor. The sun is starting to set over the winery’s rose-covered trellises, and shadows from flickering flames of the property’s heat lamps are just beginning to dance across the burgundy-dressed tables spread across the courtyard. My mission here tonight is culinary—the best kind—as I’m here to finally experience the gastronomic delights of Bricoleur via its Wine Dinner series. Although I had visited to taste its extensive wine portfolio, the opportunity to taste the winery’s edible offerings had thus far escaped me—until now. For tonight’s fall harvest themed dinner, we’re being served by Bricoleur’s executive chef himself: Shane McAnelly. As he places the evening’s first course on the table, the rolled-up sleeves of his chef’s whites expose a fantastic tattoo of a flaming sauté pan and three kitchen knives on the 42
underside of his forearm. It turns out the middle knife is an actual knife he owns: “It’s a Japanese Damascus steel knife, so it has what looks like wood grain on the blade. I love the detail the [tattoo] artist put into it—they did a pretty good job of matching up the actual grain.” McAnelly grew up in the tightly knit community of Oakley, California and spent his childhood baking with his mother and grandmother. He took to the kitchen culture quickly while working at his first restaurant job during high school. He began working as the sous chef at Garibaldi’s in Oakland in 2005, followed by a promotion to chef de cuisine three years later. It was at Garibaldi’s that he learned to make agnolotti under Chef Scott Sasaki, marking the start of a lifelong fondness for pasta. He’s also fond of gigli (campanelle), a shape he loves to use, “because it’s Italian for Lily, and that’s my daughter’s name.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF BRICOLEUR VINEYARDS
Bricoleur Vineyards has pivoted to offer a variety of outdoor food and wine experiences