Presenters

John Ash

In addition to being a renowned chef, author, and food and wine educator, many refer to Chef John Ash as the "Father of Wine Country Cuisine." In 1980 John opened his namesake restaurant, John Ash & Company, in Santa Rosa, CA. It was the first restaurant in the Northern California wine country to focus on local, seasonal ingredients used to create dishes that complemented the wines being made in the region. It continues to be critically acclaimed today.

John has moved on to many other ventures since that first restaurant. Every Saturday local fans tune into The Good Food Hour, a food and wine radio talk show he has co-hosted for 23 years on KSRO (1350 AM) in Northern California. He has also hosted his own TV show on the Food Network and is occasionally featured in other TV shows. John travels the world teaching cooking classes to both home cooks as well as professionals. He is an adjunct instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in the Napa Valley. He still holds true to his philosophy of cooking with ingredients that are ethically grown and created locally and in season. And for John, wine is always considered an essential part of the flavors of a meal.

In 2008 John was voted "Cooking School Teacher of the Year" by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. His passion for teaching is matched only by his passionate voice on sustainable food issues, serving on the Board of the Chef's Collaborative, a national organization of chef's committed to sustainable and ethical food issues. He also is on the Board of Advisors of Seafood Watch, an educational initiative for sustainable seafood by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

John has written 3 books. The latest cookbook, John Ash Cooking One-on-One: Private Lessons in Simple Contemporary Food from a Master Teacher, was published spring 2004 by Clarkson Potter. It won a 2005 James Beard award. He has authored two other books: From the Earth to the Table: John Ash's Wine Country Cuisine and American Game Cooking. The former was awarded the IACP awards for Best American Cookbook and the Julia Child Cookbook of the Year. Chronicle Books released a completely revised and updated version of From the Earth to the Table in 2007.