For two long years, chef Craig Wilmer closely followed the transitions at Forestville’s legendary Farmhouse Inn.
Chef Steve Litke’s departure in late 2021 signaled a changing of the guard at a restaurant that had remained among Sonoma County’s most impressive for more than two decades and received 14 consecutive Michelin stars between 2007 and 2021.
Filling Litke’s shoes and meeting the expectations of diners who had enjoyed signature dishes like “Rabbit, Rabbit, Rabbit” (rabbit prepared three ways) for more than 20 years wasn’t an easy feat.
But Wilmer, who then worked at the Michelin-starred Barndiva in Healdsburg, saw the intimate Forestville restaurant as something of a unicorn. After all, taking over the kitchen of a Michelin-ranked establishment like the Farmhouse Inn, with carte blanche to redefine the dining experience, is a chef’s dream.
“Usually, you have to open your own,” said Wilmer, sitting at one of the restaurant’s sturdy farm tables on a recent afternoon. An alum of renowned eateries, including Napa Valley’s Auberge du Soleil and San Francisco’s Coi, he was used to working under other celebrated chefs.
But last May, after parting ways with two other chefs, Farmhouse Inn owners Catherine and Joe Bartolomei invited Wilmer and his wife, Amanda Hoang, to take over the kitchen at their famed restaurant.
One year later, Wilmer says he’s finding his voice on the upscale tasting menu and building a culinary team he’s proud of.
“Starting was pretty daunting. There are challenges, and you can’t build everything in a day. There were things I wanted to do the first year that we just didn’t have the skill to execute,” he said.
Seemingly simple dishes like spring asparagus are peeled with a razor blade to remove the tough fibers. Tiny squabs are dry-aged for 14 to 21 days and finished on a charcoal grill. Like ephemeral works of art, each course has hundreds of unseen brush strokes of sourcing, foraging and preparation that, when revealed, make every bite all the more precious.
Enthusiastic — like very enthusiastic — wine pairings from Wine Director Jared Hooper elevate the experience exponentially. Offbeat finds from around the world, like the 2022 Processus made in South Africa with rare Maria Gomes grapes, pair beautifully with a single oyster nestled into a tiny abalone shell.
The $275-per-person price tag (excluding wine) for the six-course tasting menu is steep, even by Sonoma County standards. This isn’t a dining experience for every budget, and there is no a la carte option, so keep that in mind. (Most dietary restrictions can be accommodated with a 72-hour notice.)
Wilmer has curated a more casual experience at the inn’s Farmstand restaurant, which recently reopened for the season. The lunch and dinner spot is open to the public and features elevated woodfired pizzas, panko-crusted chicken Parmesan, a charred Caesar salad, seasonal artichokes with clarified butter, and gingerbread cake with candied ginger and poached pears. Ingredients are sourced locally, sometimes from Joe Bartolomei’s garden. It’s one of the most underrated (and under the radar) lunch spots in Sonoma County.
The inn’s recent partnership with Sonoma Valley entrepreneur and vintner Bill Foley’s Entertainment Group is paving the way for an expansion of the luxury resort and a cash infusion that, hopefully, will also translate into continued support for Wilmer’s creativity in the kitchen.
After one year at the helm of Farmhouse Inn’s restaurants, chef Wilmer is undoubtedly a rising star in the Sonoma County dining scene, offering high-end as well as casual options near Healdsburg. We look forward to seeing what his team has in store.
Farmhouse Inn is at 7871 River Road in Forestville. Reservations are available at 707-887-3300 or online at farmhouseinn.com