Highly acclaimed San Francisco chef Joshua Skenes is handing over the reins of his three-Michelin-starred Saison restaurant and heading out to “the wilderness” to pursue what he calls an unfulfilled dream.
A statement issued Friday by the Saison Hospitality Group — which also owns his Angler hot spot — says that Skenes has asked friend and chef Laurent Gras to “carry Saison into its next chapter with his own creative vision.” Skenes will remain an owner and partner.
And just where is Skenes?
“We have retreated to the woods, in the middle of some of the last pristine wilderness left in the lower forty-eight,” Skenes wrote. “I knew when we found this place it was unlike most places in the world, and it would allow us to be surrounded by every resource needed to connect directly with nature in its most vibrant state. Oceans, mountains, pastures, forests, farms, rivers, and lakes are all within arm’s reach.”
Hmm, could he be at his Sonoma County ranch where San Francisco Chronicle and Eater SF articles in 2017 said he was hosting private dinner parties? Sonoma magazine reported that the privilege of dining with Skenes in the out of doors would cost about $2,107 for two people (tax and tip included).
In Friday’s missive, Skenes described his vision as such: “Skenes Ranch is a working ranch and farm, a ‘restaurant,’ a hunting & fishing lodge, a lab, a school, a forum for innovators and collaborators improving how we grow and raise food, and hopefully a model that reminds us to look at food as vitality, as nature intended, and to try and shrink our circle of consumption,” he writes. “It is a place that constantly reminds you to breathe deeply and live life to its fullest.”
Now he’s issuing a public invitation to come up and join him — or more precisely, diners and adventurers may ask to be considered.
“If you can think it — from private dinners, fly fishing excursions, hosted travel, to foraging and grilling master classes –we will make it happen. Embrace the outdoors and let Skenes Ranch be the architect of your experience.” The missive ends with a link encouraging people to “submit requests” for invitations.
According to his bio, Skenes was born an outdoorsman in Jacksonville, Florida, where he fished, hunted with spears and cooked over campfires. He came to the West Coast and became executive chef of the Michelin-starred Chez TJ in Mountain View, then brought his passion for open-fire cooking to San Francisco, opening Saison in 2009.
Not too many years later, he said, “I knew that the space would not be able to sustain the vision I had in mind.” And off he went.
Details: www.skenesranch.com
