Healdsburg’s Jordan Vineyard & Winery is among the royalty of Sonoma wine producers, with a French-style chateau nestled among 1,200 wild acres and vineyards that produce award-winning chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon. And last year, it bagged a chef worthy of its reputation: Jesse Mallgren , who for nearly 25 years ran the one Michelin-starred kitchen at Healdsburg’s Madrona Manor (now The Madrona hotel). Mallgren started in the restaurant business as a mohawked teenager, he says, that “no one else would hire,” washing dishes before rising through the ranks to Michelin greatness.
He left The Madrona seeking a better work-life balance for his family – that’s hard to accomplish when working 12-hour days, every day – and now runs the celebrated culinary programs at Jordan , which include elaborate picnics, Parisian-themed feasts and fall harvest lunches. All of these are available to the public by reservation, and they come with plentiful opportunities to sample Jordan’s wine and estate-grown olive oil. Mallgren recently took the time to chat about what culinary events Jordan has planned this year, the joys of cooking in Sonoma and also shared a recipe for a springtime chilled green-garlic bisque .
Q: Was food a big deal for you growing up? A: My mother is a very good cook. She is a professional storyteller – she researches stories that were passed down verbally, like old Native American or Russian tales. When she would delve into the story she was learning, .