Our Chefs' Recipe of the Month

Chef Justin Wangler and the Kendall-Jackson Culinary Team provide wholesome food and wine connections to hundreds of guests who visit the Wine Center each year. At the heart of Kendall-Jackson's Culinary Services is recipe development and culinary research, a luxury that is made possible by our Founder's commitment to promoting the marriage of wine with food.

Justin Wangler - Chef, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

Under his direction, Kendall-Jackson has taken "wine country" cuisine to a new level. Given Sonoma County's choice of abundant farm-fresh meats and produce, it's easy to understand Justin's enthusiasm for creating memorable combinations of textures and flavors.

"For a chef, the idea of having access to Kendall-Jackson's world-class wines and a superb culinary garden is a dream come true," says Justin, now in his second year as Chef with the winery.

Justin grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, where he began working in restaurants before attending A.B. Tech Culinary School. During his culinary school training, he participated in several American Culinary Federation Hot Food Competitions on a regional and national level, winning gold medals on several occasions. Justin came west and took a job at Napa Valley's Culinary Institute of America in 1999, followed by Saddleback Cellars and Santa Rosa's Syrah Restaurant before joining the Kendall-Jackson Culinary Team.

For the daily food creations at Kendall-Jackson, Justin finds a tremendous amount of inspiration and ingredients from the winery's 2½-acre culinary sensory gardens and local food producers.

Andrei Litvinenko - Chef, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

A graduate of the California Culinary Academy, Andrei was born and raised in San Francisco in a Russian immigrant family. He grew up working in the family restaurant where he learned to appreciate eastern European cuisine, and grew to love cooking. Holidays were an especially exciting time when the family table would be covered with dozens of homemade pastries and traditional ethnic dishes.

Andrei spent a year cooking in Maui before returning to Northern California. When not in the kitchen, Andrei enjoys fishing, hunting, gardening and foraging for local wild mushrooms. He loves the freedom of creating new dishes using local ingredients.

Matthew Lowe - Chef, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America Matthew has worked in the kitchen, gardens and cellars of Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates for more than seven years. He brings to the table a wide variety of cooking experience from restaurants, healthcare, catering and corporate dining. Matthew specializes in vegetable dishes and the Kendall-Jackson culinary gardens offer an endless palette of seasonal produce and herbs to draw from.

Ryan Pollnow - Pastry Chef, Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates

While attending the School of Culinary Arts at Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC), Ryan Pollnow was introduced to the delectable combination of "wine country cuisine" and classic French cooking techniques. For Ryan, a California native, it was sensory love at first taste.

Following his SRJC training and three years of working in Sonoma County restaurants, Ryan went overseas to Spain, where he worked at a several culinary destinations, including Mugaritz, a Michelin two-star restaurant outside of San Sebastian.

Returning to California, Ryan worked as sous-chef at Mecca Restaurant in San Francisco. After that, Ryan spent time tasting through restaurants in France before returning to work in California, ultimately landing at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center in early 2007.