Charlie Palmer
Chef, restaurateur and
& Hospitality Entrepreneur
Charlie Palmer Group
Healdsburg, CA
Meet Charlie
Charlie Palmer is a James Beard Award-winning chef, restaurateur, author and hospitality entrepreneur who is known for a unique style of cuisine that’s rooted in French technique but utilizes regional American ingredients.
He currently juggles three hotels and fourteen restaurants across the country, including the Michelin-starred Aureole in Manhattan and hotspots like Charlie Palmer Steak, Dry Creek Kitchen and Harvest Table.
A longtime supporter of charities like Share Our Strength, he also founded Pigs & Pinot, an annual weekend celebration in Healdsburg that brings national and local chefs together to highlight heritage pork, award-winning Pinot Noir and local wine country charities.
Q: What inspired you to get into cooking?
A: We see an immediate reaction to what we do. I love that immediacy about it. That, and food brings people together.
Q: Do you have a signature dish at home?
A: There’s a barbecue chicken dish that my mom and dad used to make, with a cider- based marinade. The kids would say that’s a favorite. So are oatmeal cookies.
Q: What’s one piece of advice that you have for novice home cooks?
A: Review the recipes you’re working on before you start cooking. That, and keep it simple—don’t complicate things. That’s really the mantra of wine country cuisine: simple, beautiful, fresh food.
