Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa is a culinary destination I recommend exploring for a few reasons. Those of you local to the Sonoma area know-how adored this Hotel & restaurant is both for locals and tourists visiting from the Bay Area as well as out of state.   I have stayed here numerous times over the year and adore the hotel. Read about my stay at Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa here and my lovely Spa experiences here

Santé Restaurant

In addition to the famed history in Sonoma County their Chef Jared Reeves of Santé Restaurant believes in local and sustainable produce, achieving a thoughtful dining experience, focused on the amazing flavors in Sonoma’s bountiful harvest.

More about Chef Jared Reeves: 

“I bring passion, creativity, and high energy to the kitchen. I have an eye for local and sustainable produce. Along with my talented team, we provide a thoughtful dining experience for our modern and adventurous guests and focus on the amazing flavors in Sonoma’s unmatched harvest. I’m overwhelmed by all that Sonoma has to offer, from the fruits and vegetables at roadside stands or crab and salmon from the Pacific. Local cheese makers provide the perfect accompaniment to Sonoma’s greatest produce, its stunning wines. Sonoma is a chef’s dream locale, and I’m proud to call this area my home.”

A few things that make this Culinary experience so spectacular I’d like to share with you include the below.

Culinary Direction with Seafood Focus

With Sonoma Country being on the California Coast, Chef Jared and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa Culinary team loves to showcase West Coast seafood from Baja, CA to Washington State.

Meat Suppliers & Focus on Partners

Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa’s Sante Restaurant features Superior Farms, Inc which provides sustainably raised lamb. They describe themselves as “Good for Animals. Good for the Earth. Good for You.  Dixon, CA– Great lamb products”.

Chef Jared loves to cameo meats and cuts not typically used such as lamb sirloin, lamb rump. These cuts are often highlighted in Australia and tend to have more flavor and more fat.   As evident, Chef Jared is using his extensive culinary background to create a well-rounded menu with not only delicious items but unique meats and cuts guests may not find elsewhere. 

A few fun facts about some of the purveyor’s Chef Jared is using include:

• Fairmont Mission Inn & Spa’s Santé Restaurant is currently working with Flannery Beef located in San Rafael, CA – described as onee of the best beef in the country according to Chef. Research shows their quality of beef is always incomparable.
• Chef Lazaro (a Santé Restaurant Chef) works at Flannery Beef during the day and then prepares the beef dish at Sante Restaurant in the evening. Talk about a hands-on approach with  purveyors.

The Duck Program at Santé Restaurant

Sante Restaurant is sourcing Duck from Mary’s Ducks located in Petaluma, CA. Mary’s Duck’s are known for being organic, free-range and raised naturally in California. A few fun facts about the Duck Program at Santé Restaurant include:

• Chef is working on ordering dry aged duck which has been aged for 7 days prior to arriving to the Restaurant. The dry aging will provide a richer flavor and will produce a more tender meat. This is typically seen as a standard style or preparation for duck in Europe. 

 Vegetable Suppliers & Purveyors

Currently, Santé Restaurant is working to find more vegetable suppliers in addition to the great partners currently sourced from including:

• The Patch, located in Sonoma, CA is where unmatched heirloom tomatoes are sourced.
• Greenleaf, located in Brisbane, CA ( Bay Area ) is another supplier sourcing vegetables for Santé’s culinary offerings.
• Frog Hollow Farm, located in Brentwood, CA is a great partner sourcing some of the best stone fruit in California. Speaking of stoned fruit…. 
  • Currently on the summer menu,   grilled white peaches  (served with or presented ……)
  • Chef is working on a grilled apple dish and roasted beets for the Winter menu all sourced from Frog Hollow Farm. 
  • Chef Reeves is always looking for unique, sustainably focused purveyors.

Chef’s Journey and Evolution of Santé Restaurant

As you’ll see below, Santé Restaurant has evolved quite a bit since 2020. Learn more about this culinary destination and how it has evolved into where they are today. 

• Started moving away from the French Cuisine in the summer of 2020.
• Chef felt there needed to be a new style of food and service that was less formal yet still offering high quality produce that is expertly cooked, in an approachable way. 
• The goal was for the cuisine to fit in with the casual Wine Country vibe and the Fairmont Brand of approachable luxury.
• Not just a special occasion meal, “Restaurants are a living and breathing entitity. We are never finished.  Chef is a firm believer of feeding the cuisine daily”

Goal’s for Santé Restaurant & what’s to come….

Chef Reeves describes goals for Santé Restaurant below:

• I would like to develop a more comprehensive cheese program, showcasing all of the great cheese throughout Sonoma County.
• I hope to include more seafood focused cuisine. We are only currently scratching the surface. The seafood focus would include featuring more abalone which isn’t typically seen in Wine Country.
• Another goal is to feature more caviar from Tsar Nicoulai Caviar who is known for being  the pioneer of sustainable sturgeon farming, farm to table American caviar. 
• Looking to find a great mushroom supplier who has a great connection to local truffle huntersGoal would be to change the menu every 2-3 weeks.
• Thinking of looking into and incorporating a unique food preparation with fish, called “dry aging”

New Fall Menu launched mid-September. See Santé Restaurant menu here!

Thanks to Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa for partnering with me on this sponsored post. As always, I only write about brands, restaurants, wineries & hotels I adore whether a Sponsored post or not.