A la carte: Former Zin owners moving south

HEALDSBURG: Former owners of Zin headed to Baja resort

Healdsburg Chef Jeff Mall, who owned Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar for the past 15 years, and his wife Susan are heading to Baja, Mexico, in March to take over the kitchen at Rancho Pescadero, a resort with a farm-to-table restaurant and organic garden located near Todos Santos.

The couple, who sold Zin to former Dry Creek Kitchen Chef Dustin Valette late last year, have been consulting for the resort about a half-hour north of Cabo San Lucas on a regular basis since 2010. They plan to keep their house in Healdsburg and return there for three months out of the year.

“We’ve accepted the jobs as chefs at Rancho Pescadero, but it’s nine months so it allows us to come back,” Mall said. “When we’re home next summer, we’ll actually get to enjoy our getaway. It’s the opposite of what everybody else does.”

The menu at Rancho Pescadero under the Malls will include items such as Posole de Pescado y Mariscos, Crispy Sopes with Smoked Marlin Salpicon and Local Goat Cheese and Mushroom Chiles Rellenos with Salsa Colorado.

The couple also plans to offer cooking classes, local food tours and launch a guest chef program for culinary weekends several times a year. For more information, go to ranchopescadero.com.

___

SAUSALITO: Cavallo Point hosts culinary weekend

Cavallo Point Lodge will host the 2015 Lexus Culinary Classic from March 6 to 8, a three-day culinary celebration comprised of lunches and dinners, cooking classes and wine tastings.

The weekend kicks off at 6 p.m. March 6 with a Seasonal Flavors of America dinner. “Chow” Italia!, a hands-one cooking class, will take place at 10 a.m. March 7 at the lodge’s cooking school. A wine tasting with Master Sommelier Carlton McCoy of Napa Valley will be held at 3 p.m. March 7 at Verbena at the lodge, followed by a Feast Among the Vines dinner at 7 p.m. at Ram’s Gate Winery in Sonoma. The weekend culminates with a Grand Tasting from noon to 3 p.m. March 8 at Callippe at the lodge.

An all-access events package is $700, and individual event tickets are available for purchase. The weekend package, including three nights’ stay and daily breakfast, costs $2,100 per couple, based on double occupancy. To reserve: cavallopoint.com.

Cavallo Point Lodge was ranked among the Top Five Resorts in the U.S. by Travel + Leisure magazine.

___

SONOMA COUNTY: Symphony League hosts ‘Dinner is Served’

The Santa Rosa Symphony League will launch “Dinner is Served,” a new fundraiser for the Santa Rosa Symphony’s music education programs, on March 3 at six local restaurants.

Guests are invited to reserve a spot to the restaurants at 7 p.m. for a five-course dinner, ranging rom $40 to $75. The restaurants will waive corkage fees and give the profit from the meals to help educate thousands of students in Sonoma County.

Participating restaurants include Catelli’s in Geyserville, Taverna Sofia in Healdsburg, and East West Cafe, Bistro 29, Ca’Bianca and Sweet T’s, all in Santa Rosa.

Reservations are available at srsymphonyleague.com or call 227-4314.

___

HEALDSBURG: Classes for parents and teens

Healdsburg High School and Relish Culinary Adventures have teamed up for a Parent + Teen cooking class at 6 p.m. March 4 at the Healdsburg cooking school.

The evening includes hands-on cooking instruction for an array of healthy dishes, dinner and beverages, take-home goodies and recipe packets.

The event was organized by Emily Fincher, a Healdsburg High School student who did her academic internship program with Relish. Cost is $75 each, or $150 for a parent-teen duo, with proceeds going to the Healdsburg High School junior class (of 2016.)

To register, go to relishculinary.com or call 431-9999. Relish is located at 14 Matheson St.

___

NAPA: Wine, Women & Wellness Weekend at Westin

The Westin Verasa Napa will hold its third annual Wine, Women and Wellness event March 6 to 8, with activities ranging from smoothie workshops to a four-course wine pairing dinner at La Toque restaurant.

The health-inspired weekend kicks off March 6 with a Grand Wine Tasting Event at 5 p.m. featuring the wines of award-winning female winemakers such as Heidi Barrett. Tickets are $25 and include small bites.

Following the tasting, a dinner with the women winemakers will be created by Chef Ken Frank of La Toque. Tickets are $150, including four courses with wine pairings, tip and tax.

Other health events include morning yoga sessions, in-house spa treatments, a smoothie workshop and access to the heated saltwater pool.

To purchase a la carte tickets, go to winewomenwellness2015.eventbrite.com.

Room rates start at $159 per night. The Westin Verasa Napa is located at 1314 McKinstry St., Napa. For more information: westinnapa.com/girlsgetaway or 257-1800.

___

MENDOCINO: Chow down on some chowder

The Mendocino Whale Festival tips a fin to the barnacle-bellied cetaceans off our coast on March 7 and 8 with a chowder and beer tasting, whale walks and special exhibits.

The Chowder Tasting will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Crown Hall, with tastes of chowder from various restaurants and a beer sampling from the North Coast Brewing Company. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at brownpapertickets.com/event/935987.

There will also be a wine tasting from 1 to 4 p.m. March 7 at various locations across Mendocino. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased at brownpapertickets.com/event/936032. Tickets will be available for $40 on March 7 at the Ford House Museum and Crown Hall.

Other events include a “Whale Tales” exhibit at the Ford House Visitor’s Center through March, docent-led whale-watching walks at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. March 7 and 11 a.m. March 8 (meet at the Ford House) and a free tasting of Thanksgiving Coffee from noon to 4 p.m. March 7 at the Ford House.

For more information, go to mendowhale.com.

___

NAPA: Rock’n’roll photographer to speak at Jessup

The Tastemaker Speaker Series will hold a forum and exhibit opening with photographer George Rose at 7 p.m. Saturday at Jessup Cellars in Yountville.

The event, which includes wine tasting and small bites, will expose the true-life stories behind the greats of rock’n’roll through an interview with journalist Monique Soltani of Wine Oh TV.

Rose, who served as a photographer for six years for the Los Angeles Times, has had his work published in Rolling Stone, Time and Newsweek. Images from his 17-year career in the 1970s and ‘80s have been collected in the 2008 book, “Hollywood, Beverly Hills & Other Perversities,” published by Ten Speed Press.

Rose’s black-and-white photographs of rock’n’roll stars are on display in the winery’s Tasting Gallery through March 31 in celebration of the inaugural launch of the Yountville Live! Music Festival happening March 19 through 22. Festival headliners include O|A|R, Colbie Caillat, Matt Nathanson and Blue October.

The winery is located at 6740 Washington St. jessupcellars.com.

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.