Each September Joel and I dine at Aureole for our wedding anniversary and we are always impressed with the incredible cuisine and warm hospitality — from the welcoming glass of Champagne to "Happy Anniversary" written in chocolate on the dessert plates.

It was great sitting down with celebrity chef Charlie Palmer to talk about his approach to food and wine pairing and how it has changed over the years, as well as his thoughts on the #metoo movement.

From my article on GrapeCollective.com:

“In 1997, Linda Wells wrote in the New York Times that 28-year-old chef Charlie Palmer’s name “appears on most experts' lists of the brightest young American cooks.” At the time, he was gaining attention at the helm of New York’s River Cafe. Soon after, Palmer, who grew up in a small farming community in upstate New York, opened his first restaurant, Aureole, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Since then Palmer, one of the top American celebrity chefs and a leader in the hospitality industry, has opened an impressive roster of successful restaurants and hotels across the U.S.

As an early proponent of the farm-to-table movement, Palmer prides himself on using only the best regional ingredients. His dedication to the craft of cooking has earned him numerous awards such as the James Beard Foundation “Best Chef in America 1997” and "Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America 1998.” Palmer also serves as a board member for the Culinary Institute of America, where he was presented with an honorary doctorate in April 2018.

His passion for excellence extends to the vineyards in his own Sonoma County backyard, where Palmer cultivates four clones of Pinot Noir. The grapes are used to create ‘Charlie Clay,’ a wine produced with winemaker Clay Mauritson of Mauritson Wines. He has also partnered for several years with Ironhorse Vineyards to create the ‘Aureole Cuvee,’ a sparkling wine made with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. His latest wine project, inspired by a love for Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is a small vineyard near Sebastopol planted mostly with Syrah, not commonly grown in the area. Always looking for new challenges, Palmer hopes to make a Sonoma version of his favorite Rhône blend.”

Charlie stopped by Grape Collective to talk about his approach to food and wine pairing and how it has changed over the years, as well as his thoughts on the #MeToo movement.

Read the full Q&A on GrapeCollective.com.