10/24 HEIDI BRIDENHAGEN, MACROSTIE, MARK TARBELL, TARBELL'S

HEIDI BRIDENHAGEN – WINEMAKER, MACROSTIE WINERY 

BIOGRAPHY
Like Founder Steve MacRostie, Heidi Bridenhagen brings inquisitiveness and an absolute attention to the details that are essential for great winemaking to her role at MacRostie Winery and Vineyards. A dynamic and gifted young talent, Heidi was named MacRostie’s winemaker before the age of 30, and is just the third winemaker in the winery’s storied three-decade history. A believer in the value of explorationand experimentation, Heidi has worked closely with Steve to establish one of the Sonoma Coast’s most diverse and acclaimed vineyard programs, featuring more than 30 Chardonnay sites and over 15 Pinot Noir vineyards. To preserve this remarkable diversity and achieve a layered complexity in her wines, Heidi does as many as 130 small fermentations each vintage. While this is an incredible amount of work, when it comes time for blending, it gives Heidi an amazing palette of flavors from which to craft MacRostie’s Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs.

Heidi earned a degree in biochemistry from the University of Colorado at Boulder. After university, Heidi spent half a year traveling through Europe. As she explored local wines in France, Italy, Spain and Germany, Heidi became fascinated by the ways in which wine expressed itself in different regions. Returning to the United States, Heidi was eager to use her scientific skills, but she also wanted a career that engaged her creative side. She found what she was looking for in the enology laboratory of Jackson Family Wines. During her time at Jackson Family Wines, and later at Clos du Bois, Heidi built on her science background to establish a strong understanding of winemaking. She also found that she loved the camaraderie and collaborative spirit of a winery, being in the vineyards, and the constant focus on refinement through trial and experimentation.

Eager to gain a more international understanding of winemaking, Heidi traveled to New Zealand and spent half a year working in the cellar at Oyster Bay, where she was involved with the winery’s reserve and vineyard-designate programs. Following Oyster Bay, Heidi joined the team at Sonoma-Cutrer, where she honed her craft and palate working alongside noted winemakers Mick Schroeter and Cara Morrison.

In 2011, Heidi joined MacRostie as assistant winemaker. At MacRostie, Heidi found a winemaking home that embraced her desire to innovate and work in ever-smaller lots. In Steve MacRostie, she also found an engaging mentor who taught her about winegrowing and shared his decades of winemaking experience. Heidi thrived in this empowering environment, and was soon reimagining MacRostie’s Pinot Noir program, bringing in 50 small fermentation bins, so she could keep even more lots separate. Heidi and Steve also began running numerous small-lot trials in areas that included: extraction levels, the use of whole clusters, tannin management, cold soak durations and temperatures, yeast selection, barrel versus tank fermentation (Chardonnay), use of pump over versus punch down protocols (Pinot Noir), and more.

In recognition of her winemaking talents and her numerous contributions, Heidi was named the winemaker for MacRostie in 2013. Today, Heidi is as active in the vineyards as she is in the winery, traveling to all of MacRostie’s vineyard partners regularly, where she works carefully with the growers to tailor farming techniques, including pruning, fruit drops, harvest decisions, etc., for each block. In the winery, Heidi and Steve are constantly trying to refine their techniques as winemakers. By challenging and inspiring each other, Heidi and Steve are making the best wines in MacRostie’s history.

“Heidi has great vision as a winemaker and a wonderful palate,” says Steve. “I love working with her, and I love what she has brought to our wines.” In addition to her role at MacRostie, Heidi is active on the Sonoma County Vintners Trade Education Committee, where she serves alongside other noted growers and winemakers to help educate and advocate on behalf of Sonoma County.

WWW.MACROSTIEWINERY.COM                                                                                         



MARK TARBELL – OWNER, TARBELLS AND TARBELLS WINE STORE

Mark Tarbell (the only winning competitor on the 5th season of "Iron Chef America") opened Tarbell's in 1994. Previously he had studied in Paris at the l'Academie du Vin and earned a Grande Diplôme d'Etude Culinaire from Ecole du Cuisine La Varenne. Mark and his restaurants (he also owns The Oven in Denver) have earned more than 50 city and industry awards, including a "Best Restaurant" from Food and Wine magazine and a nomination as "Best Chef - Southwest" by the James Beard Foundation.

Tarbell’s is a friendly neighborhood atmosphere that features light woods and white tablecloths, a sweeping bird’s-eye maple bar, and exhibition kitchen. We also offer an award winning wine list and an extensive wine by the glass menu.

TARBELLS WINE STORE
Mark Tarbell has opened The Wine Store right next to his award winning restaurant, Tarbell's, on the southeast corner of 32nd Street and Camelback. In a world of big-box wine retailers which specialize in acres of shelving and discount pricing, Mark introduces an intimate, service-driven experience that returns to the celebration of wine not as a commodity but as an art.  Call The Wine Store a gallery...for grapes. His selections bring you the finest examples of winemaking, but rest assured the prices rival, and in many cases are lower then, national retail prices.  Yes, even big box prices.   With these cost-conscious choices you also receive individual and expert guidance from a friendly, enthusiastic staff.  No wine snobs here!  Come in and find out what makes shopping at The Wine Store as enjoyable as a glass of  really good Champagne!

More about Mark Tarbell
Mark's wine wanderings began more than 30 years ago, when he studied at l'Academie du Vin in Paris under Peter Vezan.  His multi-layered career in hospitality has included his position, at age 23, as the youngest Food & Beverage Director ever of a five star resort (The Boulders in Carefree).  He opened Tarbell's Restaurant in 1994 and built an award-winning wine list.  In the past 20 years he has served annually as a judge for the L.A. International Wine Competition and has authored articles in Wine & Spiritsand other national magazines.  He has been the wine columnist for The Arizona Republic since 2004.

WWW.TARBELLS.COM
WWW.TARBELLSWINESTORE.COM

10/10 MONTAGE KAPALUA BAY, MAUI HAWAII, RIKO BARTOLOME, JAMES PROCTOR, VANESSA LAMBSON

JOIN MICHAEL JORDAN LIVE FROM THE BEAUTIFUL MONTAGE KAPALUA BAY IN MAUI HAWAII

A MONTAGE RESORT ON THE ISLAND OF MAUI IN HAWAII

Montage Kapalua Bay celebrates art and artisanship in many forms, from architecture and local art to culinary and spa offerings, all inspired by the rich surroundings and culture of Hawaii. Set beachfront atop picturesque Kapalua Bay, the 24 acre-resort features Montage branded residences and the introduction of an intimate 50 suite Montage resort which opened in June 2014.

Situated on a legendary oceanfront location, which was once the site of The Kapalua Bay Hotel, Montage Kapalua Bay offers access to the best of Maui. Guests experience a blend of relaxation and rejuvenation with every detail celebrating the richness of Hawaiian culture.

Lasting memories can be made while relaxing by the multi-tiered lagoon pool which cascades down the center of the resort, or while dining on island-inspired cuisine in one of the resort’s restaurants or lounges. Comfortable all-suite accommodations are a resplendent retreat in themselves, with spacious living rooms, large private lanais, fully equipped kitchens, elegant master suites and luxurious bathrooms.

Montage has enhanced the resort with the addition of Cane & Canoe, a new signature restaurant, upgrades to suites, poolside accompaniments, as well as other exciting additions.

Montage Kapalua Bay joins the collection’s current portfolio including Montage Laguna Beach, Montage Beverly Hills, Montage Deer Valley, and The Inn at Palmetto Bluff, a Montage Resort.

www.montagehotels.com

HE WILL CHAT WITH:

RIKO BARTOLOME - EXECUTIVE CHEF

JAMES PROCTOR - DIRECTOR OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE

VANESSA LAMBSON - SOMMELIER

10/03 ANDREW DORSEY, SOCIAL IN COSTA MESA CALIFORNIA

ANDREW DORSEY - OWNER, SOCIAL IN COSTA MESA CALIFORNIA

SOCIAL Costa Mesa is a chef and ingredient-focused, new-American inspired restaurant, offering a thoughtfully curated dinner menu with classic Southern dishes made with fresh California ingredients. SOCIAL also serves late-night bites and weekend brunch. In addition to the food, the all-star mixologist team is creating one-of-a-kind craft cocktails, as well as cocktails available on tap using only housemade syrups, and bitters.

WWW.SOCIALCOSTAMESA.COM

9/19 STEFANIE SALEM, KELLY JAWOR, NEWBE PRODUCTIONS LLC, THE NEWPORT BEACH WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

KELLY JAWOR & STEFANIE SALEM FROM NEWBE PRODUCTIONS JOIN THE SHOW TO TALK ABOUT THE NEWPORT BEACH WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

STEFANIE SALEM - President of NewBe Productions LLC

Stefanie Salem, President of NewBe Productions LLC, and Founder of the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival, was born and raised in Southern California. She earned her BA in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara in 1992. Her 20 years of business experience includes having lived and worked in foreign countries while collaborating with political leaders and corporate decision makers on projects involving the promotion of their economies. Her international and entrepreneurial business experiences and love of all types of cuisine have helped provide the knowledge to create a world-class epicurean adventure for Newport Beach.

Salem promoted foreign investment in emerging markets by working with Heads of State, Ministers and CEO’s of multinational and local corporations in the countries of Greece, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Nigeria. This was accomplished through editorial advertising in US News and World Report, Sunday Telegraph (UK) and USA Today. Subsequently, she was Founder and President of Hampton Court Publishing, London, which published “In God’s Time, the Building of a Democratic Nation”, focusing on the cultural, historical and political independence of Nigeria. She worked directly with President Obasanjo, Vice President Abubakar, all 36 Governors and Ministers to create the text, original artwork and photography for the volume.

After completing and distributing the book, Salem became the Vice President of International Sales at Advanced Specialty Lighting, a design and manufacturing company of precision optical products for the entertainment, industrial and scientific markets. She conducted new business development throughout the US, China, India, Europe and Mexico.

She’s now combining her entrepreneurial experience with her passion for food in order to create an unforgettable food and wine event that generates the opportunity to help fund charitable causes in the community of Newport Beach.


KELLY JAWOR - Senior Vice President of Business Development of NewBe Productions LLC

Kelly is playing a crucial role in building the festival’s sponsor roster, culinary participants and charity partnerships. With life experiences embedding a need in her to help others combined with years of residing, working and traveling throughout Europe, Australia and Asia, Jawor serves as an important asset to the team. She brings over 20 years of International travel, finance and marketing experience with her.

Jawor grew up in Southern California and attended UCLA where she earned a BA in Economics. Upon graduation in 1991 she worked in finances for FHP International Corporation, a vertically integrated health care provider which operates and markets health maintenance organizations in several different forms. She was instrumental in the implementation of the accounting software adopted by the finance department and educating its employees on its usage. After almost two years of rising through the ranks, she was given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change her career path. For seven years, Jawor traveled and worked in the fashion industry working with such clients as Chanel, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, simultaneously growing her passion for world travel and foreign cuisine. Her successful career took her to 15 countries, working in runway, print and television.

Upon returning to the states, Jawor married her college sweetheart, a local Newport Beach resident and started a family. It was at this time that Jawor decided she needed to be closer to home and transitioned out of the career that took her abroad.  She has since served as the office manager for an established orthodontics private practice, responsible for all financial, insurance, and daily logistics for the past 12 years.

Happily married and with three young daughters, Jawor has joined NewBe Productions and has immersed herself into all aspects of the production of the First Annual Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival.  She cherishes the opportunity to be able to showcase the city and contribute to the community of Newport Beach.

www.newportwineandfood.com
www.facebook.com/newportwineandfood 
www.twitter.com/newbe_fest 



BOB VOGEL - DIRECTOR OF RETAIL & COMMISSARY OPERATIONS, SANTA MONICA SEAFOOD COMPANY

Santa Monica Seafood was officially founded in 1939 but the real story began in 1898.  That year a young man chose the life of a fisherman in California. John Deluca had only recently left his home in Naples, Italy when he put his roots down in the port city of San Pedro. Needing a way to support his growing family he looked to the sea.  His hard work and respect for the ocean rubbed off on his family and before long his oldest son Jack was tagging along. Those days on the dock laid the groundwork for a family tradition that has lasted four generations.

Jack Deluca always had a passion for the sea. From the age of nine he was at the docks pulling lines, scaling and gutting fish, and filleting the fish – all the elements of bringing seafood to market. By the age of 16 he was the proud owner of his own fishing vessel and at the tender age of 21 he was the co-owner of his own wholesale company, State Fish Company. Alongside his close friend and future brother-in-law, Gerald Cigliano, Jack built State Fish Company into a formidable presence in the wholesale seafood business in the Los Angeles area.

Jack eventually grew restless at State Fish Company and left to join L.A. Fish & Oyster.  The 10 years he spent at L.A. Fish & Oyster were good to Jack. He made a name for himself at the new company and even started his own family, but he couldn’t shake his entrepreneurial passion. After 10 years as an employee, Jack and his younger brother, Frank, joined together to embark on what would become their life’s work. In 1939, the two brothers set up shop at the end of the Santa Monica Pier selling fresh fish to restaurants and tourists alike under the company banner of Santa Monica Seafood.

For the next 42 years Jack and Frank worked to build Santa Monica Seafood into one of the top distributors of seafood in Southern California. They went from selling the catch of the day to hungry tourists on the Santa Monica Pier to selling fresh and frozen fish to the top restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange County. By 1969 an operation that had been borne on fresh-caught halibut, shark, sea bass, tuna and lobsters had outgrown its original location and had to move twelve blocks east to the corner of 12th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. The new location served as the headquarters for an ever-burgeoning wholesale business as well as the seafood market that has come to be known as “the cathedral of seafood” to many residents of L.A. County.

While the Delucas were busy building the framework for Santa Monica Seafood, their cousins, the Ciglianos, were on the docks of San Pedro continuing the business of State Fish Company. Jack Deluca’s brother-in-law, Gerald Cigliano, had passed the business on to his eldest son Anthony who, in turn, was getting help from his own seven children. The precocious youngsters, in between helping their father and going to school, had set up a business of their own on the San Pedro docks. They would get fish from the fishermen to sell to fish peddlers when they weren’t busy unloading boats and sorting fish.

In 1981 the families came together again when Anthony Cigliano and his children purchased the company from Uncles Jack and Frank. Over the next several years each of Anthony’s children joined the daily operations of Santa Monica Seafood as the company continued to expand.

In 1985 a second retail/wholesale facility was opened in Orange County to serve a business that had pushed into Palm Springs, San Diego and Las Vegas. The new location, with its retail space and larger warehouse facilities, served to further extend the reach of Santa Monica Seafood. In 1997 a retail-only store was opened in Costa Mesa to further the company’s exposure to local consumers. More recently, the wholesale operations were streamlined in 2002, when the warehouses in Orange and Santa Monica were combined at the company’s new corporate headquarters in Rancho Dominguez, CA.

After more than 40 years at its location on Colorado Avenue, the first Santa Monica Seafood retail store was relocated to Wilshire Blvd. where it boasts an incredible refrigerated seafood display, grocery products from around the world and a small café featuring the freshest seafood sold in the Southwest. Also, in 2009, the Company opened a new Las Vegas office with docking and storage facilities.

Santa Monica Seafood expanded their reach again in 2011 with the opening of a Phoenix, AZ distribution hub. That same year the company purchased Long Beach Seafood and welcomed both their respected and experienced staff and customers to our family.

In 2012 Santa Monica Seafood acquired Central Coast Seafood, adding yet more purchasing power and access to local fisheries along the central coast of California. Central Coast Seafood continues to operate under their own name, bringing their unique blend of quality, service and experience to customers as far north as San Francisco.

Jack Deluca founded Santa Monica Seafood with the philosophy, “Provide the highest quality product at a fair and reasonable price.” Today his great-nephews are carrying on that tradition with a new purpose. Anthony Cigliano’s second-born son, Anthony, is the President of the company. He directly oversees a purchasing department that is at the cutting edge of seafood sustainability. Recently the company joined with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to promote and develop new and better ways to source seafood that conform to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. The philosophy of providing the highest quality product now demands ethical and sustainable sourcing of fish and education of both customers and the public at large.

The Cigliano family is at the forefront of preservation and aquaculture efforts to ensure the bounty of our seas for generations to come and their love of the sea remains unabated. Our story is the past, the present, and the future of the seafood industry.

smseafood.com

9/05 OCEAN BEACH WAREHOUSE RESTAURANT, YAMI BRYAN, CHEF AMIKO GUBBINS

Michael Jordan is Live from Ocean Beach Warehouse Restaurant 

General Manager Yami Bryan  

Visit the newest addition to the Cohn Restaurant Group. Located in the eclectic neighborhood of Ocean Beach, OB warehouse offers a globally inspired menu and industrial vintage décor.



Corporate Chef Amiko Gubbins

Amiko Gubbins' culinary career began by watching her traditional Japanese mother in the kitchen-- but her formal training first took life in La Jolla under Ulf Anders and William Gustaf, who she credits for cultivating her immense appreciation for food and quality ingredients. After spending time in the kitchens of Cilantros and Pacifica Del Mar, Gubbins served as Executive Chef of Cafe Japengo where she took home the award for Best Asian for eight years. Soon after, she branched out on her own as chef and owner of the critically acclaimed Parallel 33 in San Diego's Mission Hills neighborhood. During her time there, Amiko earned numerous awards including, Best Asian, Best Ethnic, Best Fusion and the prestigious Gold Medallion Award for "Chef of the Year". After her time at Parallel 33, Amiko went to work as the personal chef for music icon Lenny Kravitz before working with Specialty Produce where she selected the freshest produce from the Santa Monica Farmers Market for daily use by local chefs. Most recently, Amiko served as Executive Chef for Sysco San Diego where she brought her culinary experience to the company's vast restaurant base. In her spare time Amiko practices yoga, surfs and performs in the Encinitas Guitar Orchestra.

8/22 STEFANIE SALEM, KELLY JAWOR, NEWBE PRODUCTIONS LLC, THE NEWPORT BEACH WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

KELLY JAWOR & STEFANIE SALEM FROM NEWBE PRODUCTIONS JOIN THE SHOW TO TALK ABOUT THE NEWPORT BEACH WINE AND FOOD FESTIVAL

STEFANIE SALEM - President of NewBe Productions LLC

Stefanie Salem, President of NewBe Productions LLC, and Founder of the Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival, was born and raised in Southern California. She earned her BA in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara in 1992. Her 20 years of business experience includes having lived and worked in foreign countries while collaborating with political leaders and corporate decision makers on projects involving the promotion of their economies. Her international and entrepreneurial business experiences and love of all types of cuisine have helped provide the knowledge to create a world-class epicurean adventure for Newport Beach.

Salem promoted foreign investment in emerging markets by working with Heads of State, Ministers and CEO’s of multinational and local corporations in the countries of Greece, Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Nigeria. This was accomplished through editorial advertising in US News and World Report, Sunday Telegraph (UK) and USA Today. Subsequently, she was Founder and President of Hampton Court Publishing, London, which published “In God’s Time, the Building of a Democratic Nation”, focusing on the cultural, historical and political independence of Nigeria. She worked directly with President Obasanjo, Vice President Abubakar, all 36 Governors and Ministers to create the text, original artwork and photography for the volume.

After completing and distributing the book, Salem became the Vice President of International Sales at Advanced Specialty Lighting, a design and manufacturing company of precision optical products for the entertainment, industrial and scientific markets. She conducted new business development throughout the US, China, India, Europe and Mexico.

She’s now combining her entrepreneurial experience with her passion for food in order to create an unforgettable food and wine event that generates the opportunity to help fund charitable causes in the community of Newport Beach.


KELLY JAWOR - Senior Vice President of Business Development of NewBe Productions LLC

Kelly is playing a crucial role in building the festival’s sponsor roster, culinary participants and charity partnerships. With life experiences embedding a need in her to help others combined with years of residing, working and traveling throughout Europe, Australia and Asia, Jawor serves as an important asset to the team. She brings over 20 years of International travel, finance and marketing experience with her.

Jawor grew up in Southern California and attended UCLA where she earned a BA in Economics. Upon graduation in 1991 she worked in finances for FHP International Corporation, a vertically integrated health care provider which operates and markets health maintenance organizations in several different forms. She was instrumental in the implementation of the accounting software adopted by the finance department and educating its employees on its usage. After almost two years of rising through the ranks, she was given the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change her career path. For seven years, Jawor traveled and worked in the fashion industry working with such clients as Chanel, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, simultaneously growing her passion for world travel and foreign cuisine. Her successful career took her to 15 countries, working in runway, print and television.

Upon returning to the states, Jawor married her college sweetheart, a local Newport Beach resident and started a family. It was at this time that Jawor decided she needed to be closer to home and transitioned out of the career that took her abroad.  She has since served as the office manager for an established orthodontics private practice, responsible for all financial, insurance, and daily logistics for the past 12 years.

Happily married and with three young daughters, Jawor has joined NewBe Productions and has immersed herself into all aspects of the production of the First Annual Newport Beach Wine and Food Festival.  She cherishes the opportunity to be able to showcase the city and contribute to the community of Newport Beach.

www.newportwineandfood.com
www.facebook.com/newportwineandfood 
www.twitter.com/newbe_fest 



BOB VOGEL - DIRECTOR OF RETAIL & COMMISSARY OPERATIONS, SANTA MONICA SEAFOOD COMPANY

Santa Monica Seafood was officially founded in 1939 but the real story began in 1898.  That year a young man chose the life of a fisherman in California. John Deluca had only recently left his home in Naples, Italy when he put his roots down in the port city of San Pedro. Needing a way to support his growing family he looked to the sea.  His hard work and respect for the ocean rubbed off on his family and before long his oldest son Jack was tagging along. Those days on the dock laid the groundwork for a family tradition that has lasted four generations.

Jack Deluca always had a passion for the sea. From the age of nine he was at the docks pulling lines, scaling and gutting fish, and filleting the fish – all the elements of bringing seafood to market. By the age of 16 he was the proud owner of his own fishing vessel and at the tender age of 21 he was the co-owner of his own wholesale company, State Fish Company. Alongside his close friend and future brother-in-law, Gerald Cigliano, Jack built State Fish Company into a formidable presence in the wholesale seafood business in the Los Angeles area.

Jack eventually grew restless at State Fish Company and left to join L.A. Fish & Oyster.  The 10 years he spent at L.A. Fish & Oyster were good to Jack. He made a name for himself at the new company and even started his own family, but he couldn’t shake his entrepreneurial passion. After 10 years as an employee, Jack and his younger brother, Frank, joined together to embark on what would become their life’s work. In 1939, the two brothers set up shop at the end of the Santa Monica Pier selling fresh fish to restaurants and tourists alike under the company banner of Santa Monica Seafood.

For the next 42 years Jack and Frank worked to build Santa Monica Seafood into one of the top distributors of seafood in Southern California. They went from selling the catch of the day to hungry tourists on the Santa Monica Pier to selling fresh and frozen fish to the top restaurants in Los Angeles and Orange County. By 1969 an operation that had been borne on fresh-caught halibut, shark, sea bass, tuna and lobsters had outgrown its original location and had to move twelve blocks east to the corner of 12th Street and Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica. The new location served as the headquarters for an ever-burgeoning wholesale business as well as the seafood market that has come to be known as “the cathedral of seafood” to many residents of L.A. County.

While the Delucas were busy building the framework for Santa Monica Seafood, their cousins, the Ciglianos, were on the docks of San Pedro continuing the business of State Fish Company. Jack Deluca’s brother-in-law, Gerald Cigliano, had passed the business on to his eldest son Anthony who, in turn, was getting help from his own seven children. The precocious youngsters, in between helping their father and going to school, had set up a business of their own on the San Pedro docks. They would get fish from the fishermen to sell to fish peddlers when they weren’t busy unloading boats and sorting fish.

In 1981 the families came together again when Anthony Cigliano and his children purchased the company from Uncles Jack and Frank. Over the next several years each of Anthony’s children joined the daily operations of Santa Monica Seafood as the company continued to expand.

In 1985 a second retail/wholesale facility was opened in Orange County to serve a business that had pushed into Palm Springs, San Diego and Las Vegas. The new location, with its retail space and larger warehouse facilities, served to further extend the reach of Santa Monica Seafood. In 1997 a retail-only store was opened in Costa Mesa to further the company’s exposure to local consumers. More recently, the wholesale operations were streamlined in 2002, when the warehouses in Orange and Santa Monica were combined at the company’s new corporate headquarters in Rancho Dominguez, CA.

After more than 40 years at its location on Colorado Avenue, the first Santa Monica Seafood retail store was relocated to Wilshire Blvd. where it boasts an incredible refrigerated seafood display, grocery products from around the world and a small café featuring the freshest seafood sold in the Southwest. Also, in 2009, the Company opened a new Las Vegas office with docking and storage facilities.

Santa Monica Seafood expanded their reach again in 2011 with the opening of a Phoenix, AZ distribution hub. That same year the company purchased Long Beach Seafood and welcomed both their respected and experienced staff and customers to our family.

In 2012 Santa Monica Seafood acquired Central Coast Seafood, adding yet more purchasing power and access to local fisheries along the central coast of California. Central Coast Seafood continues to operate under their own name, bringing their unique blend of quality, service and experience to customers as far north as San Francisco.

Jack Deluca founded Santa Monica Seafood with the philosophy, “Provide the highest quality product at a fair and reasonable price.” Today his great-nephews are carrying on that tradition with a new purpose. Anthony Cigliano’s second-born son, Anthony, is the President of the company. He directly oversees a purchasing department that is at the cutting edge of seafood sustainability. Recently the company joined with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to promote and develop new and better ways to source seafood that conform to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. The philosophy of providing the highest quality product now demands ethical and sustainable sourcing of fish and education of both customers and the public at large.

The Cigliano family is at the forefront of preservation and aquaculture efforts to ensure the bounty of our seas for generations to come and their love of the sea remains unabated. Our story is the past, the present, and the future of the seafood industry.

smseafood.com

8/08 EXECUTIVE CHEF MIGUEL VALDEZ, MAURICE DIMARINO, 100 WINES KITCHEN, COHN RESTAURANTS

Michael Jordan is Live from 100 WINES Kitchen!

Executive Chef Miguel Valdez

Miguel Valdez was working as a dishwasher at a gourmet grocery store in Pennsylvania when he was first inspired to become a Professional Chef himself.

In 2007, Valdez and his wife moved to San Diego, California where he was hired at Little Italy Pizzeria tossing dough. With hard work and determination, Valdez took on another job at a sushi restaurant across the street gaining experience with different kinds of foods. In 2009, he was hired at the Glass Door in the Porto Vista Hotel. Shortly after, he moved to Anthology where he was taught how to braise, grill, and prepare sauces and stocks.

About a year later, with a desire to become an Executive Chef, Valdez was hired at the Red Door in Mission Hills as a Line Cook. He quickly worked his way up to a Sous Chef and was eventually granted the role of Executive Chef. While working at the Red Door, the owner impressed upon him the importance of sourcing locally grown foods. "It costs more, but it's higher quality and helps hardworking people in our own county. I've loved developing relationships with the guy down the street that grows lemons, the man who harvests mushrooms, the pasta people. These are my most trusted comrades."

Valdez recently joined 100 Wines kitchen as the Executive Chef. He maintains the "source local" philosophy while producing great food for Guests of 100 Wines.


Maurice DiMarino - Wine & Beverage Manager & Certified Sommelier

Maurice DiMarino has seen just about everything in his 26 years in the service industry.  From his early days as a host for a local San Diego Mexican Restaurant to his current position as wine and beverage manager for theCohn Restaurant Group, the journey has been a varied and exciting one.  However, it was not until he moved to San Francisco in early 1994 that he became passionate about the industry.  While in San Francisco he had the opportunity to open several landmark restaurants, including Lou’s Pier 47, Foreign Cinema, Alma and Chez Spencer.  During this time, Maurice was able to work closely with sommeliers and renowned chefs.  It was their mentorship and extensive experience that fostered Maurice’s passion for epicurean pursuits.  Beyond anything else though, it was travel that inspired the love for wine and viticulture that guides Maurice to this day.  More than a home, San Francisco became a hub for Maurice to travel.  His free spirit took him to Europe, Canada, Central and South America, Southeast Asia and Australia.  It was in these travels that Maurice discovered the varied and sometimes sacred place that wine holds in so many cultures around the world.

It was love and family that eventually brought Maurice back to San Diego where he returned to a budding restaurant industry.  When he was offered the chance to act as Wine Director for Chef Deborah Scott’s new restaurant, Island Prime, he jumped.  Maurice saw this position as an opportunity to bring his extensive experience with wine, travel and culture into a wine program unique to the San Diego area.  Maurice is now the beverage and wine manager for the Cohn Restaurant Group and oversees beverages for the 16 restaurants.  By the end of 2013 there will be 5 more restaurants added.  Maurice shares his love of teaching through extensive training and seminars with the managers, employees  and guests of the Cohn Restaurant Group.  His goal is to bring attention to San Diego and show the world that San Diego should be recognized among the top cities for food and wine.

Maurice DiMarino’s “Cru” is the wine club that he started through the Cohn Restaurant Group, “Prime Cru“.  He created this club as an outlet for those not in the industry to come and learn about wine.  He provides seminars for club members ranging from specific grape varietals to exploring the different wine regions of the world.  Prime Cru was also created so that guests can have amazing deals on purchasing wines usually not available outside the restaurant.   He believes wine should be fun and not taken too seriously.  This blog was created to break the pretentious image wine seems to carry and make it accessible and easy to understand.  Be part of the crew, Mauricescru!