A la carte: Olive inspired feast

YOUNTVILLE: Etoile closes at Domaine Chandon

Etoile, a pioneering restaurant that trained many of Napa Valley’s finest chefs, closed on New Year’s Day after nearly four decades of fine dining in Yountville.

According to the winery’s website, plans call for the space to reopen in the spring as an expansion of the winery’s Tasting Lounge as well as a venue for its wine club, Club Chandon.

It opened in 1973 as The Restaurant at Domaine Chandon under chef Udo Nechutnys, who later gave the reins to a young French chef, Philippe Jeanty. Jeanty ran the restaurant for two decades before he left to open Bistro Jeanty in Yountville.

Others who served as executive chefs include Robert Curry, the current chef at Auberge du Soleil in Napa, and Perry Hoffman, grandson of Don and Sally Schmitt, founders of the French Laundry.

During Hoffman’s recent tenure, the restaurant won a Michelin star three years in a row. Hoffman will help with the transition this spring and be involved in special events to be held in the space.

For more information, go to chandon.com.

___

SONOMA VALLEY: Feast of the Olive dinner at Ramekins

The Sonoma Valley Olive Season will throw a celebratory Feast of the Olive dinner at 6 p.m. Jan. 31 at Ramekins Culinary School in Sonoma.

The dinner showcases the valley’s bounty of food, its renowned wine and its second-largest crop, the olive.

About 20 of the region’s top chefs will prepare an olive-inspired feast that will bring together all three in a decadent, five-course feast.

Some of the chefs participating in the dinner include Jeffrey Lloyd of Cafe La Haye in Sonoma, John Toulze of The Girl & The Fig in Sonoma, Catherine Venturini of Olive & Vine in Glen Ellen and Ed Metcalfe of Shiso in Sonoma.

Tickets are $175, available by calling 996-1090, ext. 108. For more information, go to olivefestival.com.

___

SANTA ROSA: Class on the City of Light

If you’re a Francophile, heads up. You’ll find this class compelling – “Why We Love Paris – Architecture, Travel, Food and Wine.”

The class will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Feb. 4-18 and the fee is $111. It’s at the Burdo Culinary Arts Center, room 5020, across from the Santa Rosa Junior College’s main campus.

The class is for people who love the City of Light, whether they’ve been there several times or they’re planning their first trip. Steve Rabinowitsh, an SRJC instructor, will focus on the city’s history and architecture.

Christine Piccin, a professional chef in the SRJC’s Culinary Arts Program, will share French recipes, wines and cheese.

Both will share their enthusiasm for markets, shopping and restaurants, including their favorite haunts.

If you’re 21 years old or older, you can enroll by calling 707-527-4372.

___

SONOMA: Class for Wine lovers

The Renaissance Lodge at Sonoma Resort & Spa is offering an ongoing wine education class called: Grapes to Glass on Wednesdays.

The free class, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., explores the soils of the vineyard, the alchemy of winemaking and the sensual wines that come from that magic.

The Renaissance Lodge is at 1325 Broadway in Sonoma. For more information, call 707-931-2149.

___

SANTA ROSA: Celebrating with sweet treats

Recherche du Plaisir, a chocolate shop at 3401 Cleveland Ave., will celebrate its third anniversary with a party all day Saturday at its Santa Rosa Store.

Owners Lucy and Michael Gustafson will serve sample sweets and treats all day, plus everything in the store will be 30 percent off.

For more information about the chocolate shop, go to rdpsweets.com.

___

SAN FRANCISCO: Paula Wolfert to speak at City Arts

Longtime Sonoma cookbook author Paul Wolfert will speak on “Alzheimer’s: Moving Towards a Cure,” at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Nourse Theater in San Francisco as part of the City Arts & Lectures series.

The lecture, a benefit for Alzheimer’s Association, will also feature Dr. Lennard Mucke, a professor of Neurology at the University of California San Francisco, and Geoffrey Kerchner, an assistant professor of neurology at Stanford with a special interest in Alzheimer’s disease.

Tickets are $27 and available at cityarts.net. 275 Hayes St. The program will air on public radio station KQED-FM (88.5) at 1 p.m. Feb. 1.

Compiled by Staff Writer Diane Peterson, who can be reached at 521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com, and Peg Melnik, who can be reached at 521-5310 or peg.melnik@pressdemocrat.com.