A beautiful house high in the hills of Healdsburg (about an hour north of San Francisco- for those of you outside of the bay area) is the weekend getaway for the fabulous cooking duo: Chef's Bruce Aidells (who founded Aidells Sausages (you know you have seen them in the grocery store) and his wife Nancy Oakes (James Beard award winner in 2001 for "Best Chef in California") who owns and runs Boulevard restaurant (which she opened in 1993) which is one of the best places to eat in San Francisco.
The design of the house is Arts and Crafts- and although it is not normally my cup of tea or design taste (but I am open minded and can appreciate all design styles)- you can see the thought- love and attention to detail that went into each and every inch of this house.
It all started in 1996 when Bruce made a visit to the Thorsen House in Berkeley and fell in love with the architecture of Charles and Henry Greene (Greene and Greene). It was then that he knew that he HAD to have a house in this style and it wasn't until he sold his interest in Aidells Sausage company (which he started in 1983) in 2002- that his dreams started to come true. The style of the house is fully Arts and Crafts with every detail- the style is an airplane bungalow (in Arts and Crafts parlance) with a massive roof which is typically one story- usually with one second floor room (the name airplane bungalow refers to the resemblance of a cockpit in early 20th century airplanes).
I think that the heart of the house is without a doubt the kitchen. It is any chefs dream come true- and I think that together Bruce and Nancy created the house that they always dreamed of (together with Greg Klein of John Malick and Associate (in Emeryville).
A wonderful visit with lots of yummy goodies- cheese and ham with great mustards with freshly baked breads...
5 comments:
Grant-
Yum...Nancy and Bruce are incredibly talented and nice and so hard-working. Great that we enjoy the tastes and flavors of their devotion to food.
Thought you might do a post on the farmers' market...but this is even better, with architecture and bites.
happy days and happy eating, www.thestylesaloniste.com
Even though I've been vegetarian since I'm 8, I appreciate the lovely pictures! : )
DDS- they are just lovely people. So nice to know them.
Scott- Glad that I didn't put more meat photos up.
Come to SF and I will make you a veggie feast :)
What a beautiful home! The lovely shot of artisanal cheeses made me hungry. :)
Oh Grant
That kitchen would make anyone green with envy!
Sally
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