Associate Chefs

Winery Chefs is committed to building a team of chefs that have experience in creating wine and food pairings and bring a shared focus of providing each client with unsurpassed service.

Meet our newest Associate Chef Marc Golick. Marc compliments the team of Richard Haake  and Nathan Molina with his passion for wine and food pairing and a deeply rooted history of living and working in the Napa Valley.

A Native of Napa Valley, Marc Golick graduated at the top of his class from Napa Valley Cooking School. He began his hands-on culinary training at one of the best and most respected restaurants in the Napa Valley, Mustard’s Grill. Under the tutelage of Cindy Pawlcyn, Marc developed the skills of a seasoned line cook with an appreciation for food that doesn’t have to be fancy, just good.

Leaving Mustards, Marc embarked on a long tenure at Chef Joachim Spilchals three star brasserie, Pinot Blanc in Saint Helena. It was at Pinot Blanc with Chef Sean Knight that Marc was given the opportunity to lead and was quickly promoted to Executive Sous Chef. While the Executive Sous Chef at Pinot Blanc, Marc focused on creating elegant French cuisine using only the best ingredients. Many of the diners at Pinot Blanc were some of the Valleys top wine producers; on regular occasion Marc would create impromptu menus that paired the guest particular wine selection. Marc recalls, “ I would have three to four different glasses of wine brought to me by the server and I would create pairing using what we had in house, it was a great learning experience”. Some of the experience was a feature special in Art Culinare Magazine.

After three years of fine tuning his skills, Marc was offered the opportunity to head up the kitchen at the Hydro Bar & Grill in Calistoga. It was at Hydro Bar & Grill that Marc was able to really shine, as he was the “local’s favorite” for his simple yet sophisticated fare. At the helm of the Hydro Bar & Grill, Marc was able to feature such specialties as made-to-order Sushi, seasonal tapas and his “famous” smoked tomato ketchup. Now, to the uninformed, ketchup might not seem like such a big deal, but Marc’s ketchup was so good that customers of the restaurant would often come into the kitchen after their meals to beg Marc for the recipe (or at least a small to-go container)! That recipe, to this day, remains a closely guarded secret.

Marc furthered his culinary career as Banquet and Special Events Chef at Vintage Estates, home of Villagio Inn & Spa and Vintage Inn in the heart of the Napa Valley. In his time with Vintage Estates, Marc produced large-scale events for clients such as Pellegrino, Nissan, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and The V Foundation. Small, intimate wine and food paired dinners often done in the depths of wine caves were also produced working in close relation with the wine makers. It was here that Marc truly discovered his passion for wine and food. These events featured world class wines and Marc’s signature style of simple, elegant food utilizing organic and sustainable ingredients.

After fifteen years cooking alongside some of the best chefs in the culinary world, Marc continues to hold true to the belief that food doesn’t have to be fancy, it has to be good. And like the Napa Valley itself, Marc has a style all his own! Winery Chefs welcomes Marc Golick as our newest Associate Chef.

Meet Nathan Molina. Nathan is Winery Chefs first Associate Chef

My first food related memory began around six years old. Both parents loved to cook. One of their favorite dishes is chicken enchiladas made with homemade tortillas. It took a few minutes to show me that fresh tortillas came from mixing a bit of corn flour with some bacon fat, water, and lime. I was in love with the idea of learning how to create delicious food from basic ingredients.

I graduated from New England Culinary Institute (NECI) located in Montpelier, Vermont in 1997. Following graduation I relocated to the Napa Valley with several school friends and began my culinary journey through the vigorous and demanding food industry. My initial restaurant experience began working for Bob Hurley at the Napa Valley Grille in Yountville. From Chef Hurley I learned the importance of maintaining focus and a good attitude under pressure. At the time I was only twenty-one and full of energy so I took up a second job working for Sean Knight at Pinot Blanc in St. Helena, now Go Fish. Chef Knight taught me to perfect my sense of timing and emphasized the importance in balancing flavor components. In 1999, I relocated in the Sierra Nevada Mountains to take up a chef position at the Crescent Hotel a small Bed and Breakfast / Restaurant. This experience proved invaluable for it taught me to be very proactive in terms of maintaining food and labor cost as well as keeping a highly organized kitchen.

Some years later yearning for the city life again, I relocated to the Bay Area to work at Ed Moose’s restaurant Moose’s in San Francisco with then Chef Jeff Amber. From this experience, I further honed my kitchen and hospitality skills. In the spring of 2008, a close friend from culinary school Chef Richard Haake who had recently taken the chef position at Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa Valley called upon me to help him in the kitchen. Once again, I found myself in the Napa Valley this time with a family and over a decade of kitchen experience providing a more grounded approach towards food, wine and family. Working with Richard Haake proved to be essential in terms of understanding how food and wine can compliment and balance each other to provide a memorable food experience. Richard and I continue to work closely together for other local wineries developing wine and food programs that focus on balancing food and wine.

More recently, I have been working with other local Napa Valley chefs such as Morgan Robinson of Smoke Catering, Janelle Weaver of Kuleto Estates, Rick Warkel, and Jonathan Bodner all of whom focus on the interaction and balance between food, wine, and guest. The amalgamation of my culinary career allows me to offer many culinary styles and cooking perspectives including French, South American, and Asian to name a few. So come and join me in creating great food related memories and perhaps share a few moments of our lives together over a glass of wine in the Napa Valley.

Sincerely,

Nathan Molina