culinary community
CHEFS IN RESIDENCE
Sonoma Wineries with Food Pairing
As a hub of the community, our goal is to not only support winemakers at the crush studio and local organizations with our event venue, but also to support local chefs. The Wine Lounge at Sugarloaf Wine Co. was designed with a full commercial kitchen for member wineries food pairing experiences and special events. For the first time, we began leasing our kitchen to talented chefs in the community who need fully equipped space to practice their crafts and grow their business. We call them our Chefs in Residence.
creative juices
Meet Sean Quan of Second Staff
Supporting Our Wineries with Food Pairing
Not long after moving to Sonoma County in 2021, chefs Sean Quan and Jenny Phan started having withdrawal symptoms from late-night social life in Los Angeles. That’s when the idea for Second Staff, their creative culinary company, started to take shape. They teamed up with some new chef friends who also had a hankering for midnight eats and drinks with friends to host a string of fun, daring pop-up concepts for industry folk. Rage Cage fried chicken battles, Space Balls boba wars and Small Men sandwiches for gearheads paved the way for FNCY PNTS, their take on fine dining without the formality.
Within a year, Second Staff became Sonoma County’s pop-up restaurant dream team, and their events hosted at wineries, breweries and food events around the region usually sell out. Many wineries with food pairing dreams turn to Second Staff to wow their guests, and we are thrilled that Second Staff was in need of a kitchen to call home around the same time The Wine Lounge at Sugarloaf was ready to start offering fun food pairings to guests. As a community crush studio, it only made sense to share our commercial kitchen with local chefs in the community.
Chef Quan’s creative pop-up ideas are as limitless as his insanely delicious food. “Restaurants and the food they serve should always be a reflection of the communities they are part of,” Sean says. “They should also have a deeper meaning, and provide an insight into the community that you wouldn’t normally see.”
Sean Quan
Jenny Phan