Bruce Frieseke, Executive Chef at Applewood Inn

Given his large talent and early history the casual observer might justifiably conclude that Bruce Frieseke always knew that he would be the Chef in an acclaimed restaurant one day. After all, when pressed, he can’t remember a time when he wasn’t interested in cooking. On his ninth birthday he asked for, and received, the unusual gift of a wok with a pasta machine following two years later on his eleventh birthday.

The casual observer would have been mistaken. Although he filled his summers and after school hours working in restaurants to earn spending money, his chosen career path headed in another direction with studies in Philosophy, language and Math at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland and French Language, Literature and History at the Cours de la Civilisation Francaise in Paris.

While the rest of us could see what fate intended for Bruce he seems to have been singularly unaware of his destiny, settling seemingly effortlessly into the role of Chef. Once he realized his destiny however he applied the same thoughtful and meticulous attention to its execution as he has to all facets of his life utilizing the disciplines that he honed through the study of Philosophy and Mathematics, adding the flare and aplomb of the French attitude toward food and life.

Bruce has acquired a very impressive resume in a very short time working at the Restaurant Amphycles in Paris, The Warwick-Regis Hotel and the Bizou Café in San Francisco before coming home to Sonoma County. Locals will remember him as the Sous Chef at the Willowside Café in Santa Rosa and the Farmhouse Inn in Forestville and Executive Chef at Manzanita in Healdsburg.

Bruce credits each Chef with whom he has worked with broadening his culinary horizons, exposing him to new ingredients, techniques and approaches to food. He gives us a glimpse of his own kitchen philosophy when he says that “ I look at each individual ingredient and wonder how can I bring out its inherent essence in a way that harmonizes with the dish as a whole.”

Bringing to the restaurant at Applewood the culmination of this rich work and life experience, Bruce and his talented team are creating a dining experience unique in the Wine Country taking full advantage of the inn’s own 2 acre organic kitchen garden as well as the gardens and farms of the artisan farmers and ranchers that are so integral to Sonoma County’s reputation as a world renowned culinary destination.

Working for his family, Chris started in the restaurant business in the seasonal town of Wildwood, NJ at age 8. Cooking, waiting on tables and doing the books he learned the operations and business of the restaurant at an early age. Today the Sand Castle Restaurant can still be found operating for breakfast and dinner for its 43rd year.

After high school, Chris attended The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University. Among his academics he was a teaching assistant for many of the wine and chef lecture series. He was a lead-member of Cornell’s student run Dining Club as well as, Hotel Ezra Cornell.

After graduating, Chris began winter world travels that included: Puerto Rico, Southern France, Spain, Portugal, Australia and Japan. These trips offered Chris the ability to see world-renowned Chateaus, drink local rarely imported wine, or grow his love for world brandies. In the summers, he could be found managing fine dining restaurants in his hometown.

His passion was always wine and began to teach himself the details of the different wine areas of the world. He then took his first Sommelier’s exam and passed with ease; inquiring if he could walk-on to the second exam the next day, he passed again.

Now he can be found in and out of cellar here at the Applewood, greeting guests as they enter the restaurant or helping guests plot out their trips through the Sonoma County. Chris and Bruce, the head-Chef, commonly change the tasting menu to incorporate different wines and beers of the world. Here Chris mixes classic pairings with eccentric and unique pairings. He loves fielding wine questions or just talking about favorite producers or trips around the world.