Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/648009
erefore, before opening the doors to the restaurant in 2005, he established close relationships with local purveyors and began building what has become the largest collection of Napa Valley wines in America. As a result, within the first five years of being open the restaurant received rave reviews from writers, foodies and travel advisors as one of the top steakhouses on the West Coast. However, as he has done over the past two decades with his culinary programs at Oakville Grocery and Dean & DeLuca, Rudd didn't rest on his laurels. Instead, to increase his commitment to using more local products on the menu, he developed Rudd Farms at the top of the Oakville Grade on Mount Veeder in 2010. Surrounded by forest, vineyards and spectacular views of Napa Valley, this prime 13-acre parcel of organically farmed property is now home to a continuous flow of fresh herbs, seasonal vegetables and fruit, olives, chickens, turkeys, ducks, goats, sheep and honey. Today, these fresh products are being used by talented chef Trevor Kunk, who joined the team at Press in early 2014. A native of Sarasota, Florida, Kunk's passion for cooking started at an early age. "I've always been obsessed with food," admits Kunk. "Although I was active in sports at school, I was always thinking what's for lunch, what's for dinner, or wondering where my parents would take me to eat next." Aer landing his first restaurant job in his mid-teens, Kunk quickly moved up the chain, starting as a busser, and eventually working his way to the kitchen within a few years. is steady growth, coupled with encouragement from his parents, culminated in his enrollment in the Culi- nary Institute of America at Hyde Park at the age of 20. Aer graduating from the CIA in 2003, Kunk got his first major job at Charlie Palmer's Aureole in New York City. e following year, he transitioned to Blue Hill, where he learned new skills alongside the restaurant's co-founder and star chef, Dan Barber. During this period, Kunk worked his way up from cook to Sous Chef and then finally to Chef de Cuisine, a position he held from 2007 until he moved with his wife and two children from Brooklyn to Napa Valley in 2014. Upon his arrival at Press, Kunk's experience working with fresh vegetables from the famed Blue Hill Farms quickly shined when he created the Vegetable Cocktail, a simple dish featuring a medley of chilled radishes served with a tangy dipping sauce. And as the plantings at Rudd Farms expanded, he added more vegetables and special sauces to the presentation. Today, the cocktail is one of the most popular starting dishes at Press. "When you dip an ice-cold vegetable, the dip needs to be bright, vibrant and seasoned in balance to complement the bite instead of overpowering it," says Kunk, who now pairs this lively medley of fresh flavors with four to six dips or emulsions on any given night. roughout the year, Kunk and the team play with a wide range of edibles: from fresh herbs, sunflowers and greens like Little Gem lettuce, romaine, kale and cabbage; to multi- colored offerings of beets, carrots, cauliflower, heirloom tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and squash; to the more fruit- driven flavors of fresh melons, citrus, and tree fruits like apples, pears and figs. Once picked and transported down the windy hill to the kitchen, the ingredients are used to add At Press, fresh car- rots from the estate are used in a variety of starter dishes, in- cluding the Vegeta- ble Cocktail and the Carrot "Hot Dog." At Rudd Farms, greenhouses are used for raising fresh greens, herbs and starting vegetable plants from seed. 9 8 | t h e c l e v e r r o o t