WENTE FAMILY ESTATES GRAPEVINE

WENTE FAMILY ESTATES GRAPEVINE x FALL 2016 l Q&A f or executive sous chef Joshua leidreiter, working at the restaurant at Wente vineyards is in many ways like returning to where it all began. leidreiter embarked on his career at the california culinary Academy in san francisco and landed his first job at the nordstrom café in the stanford shop- ping center. he made a detour to the east coast to work again for nordstrom and then at an Italian café where he learned the art of baking wood-fired pizzas, but couldn't stay away from the West coast for too long. upon his return to the Bay Area, he noticed a job opening at Wente vine- yards. six-plus years later and he just celebrated his promotion to executive sous chef in september, which will give him yet another chance to take on new projects and prosper in the kitchen. "I'm thrilled to have been at Wente vineyards for more than six years now," said leidreiter. "from working as a fill- in on the grill and spending time with Master Gardener Diane Dovholuk out in the Garden to now directing staff mem- bers, it's been an exciting ride." How will your recent promotion af- fect your daily responsibilities? As the executive sous chef, I'm in more of a leadership role than I ever have been. A big part of my job now is mentoring, helping and teaching people how to cook, and ensuring that the quality of the products coming in and going out of the kitchen are of the highest quality. My goal every day is to make sure that plates are going out exactly the way that chef Mike Ward has envisioned them. I've also been working with chef Mike on new dish development for about a year-and-a-half now, and that will con- tinue as part of this new position. What are the most enjoyable and challenging aspects of working at The Restaurant? I love mentoring and teaching members of the kitchen staff, getting the opportunity to talk to chef Mike about creative menu ideas, and learning new cooking techniques. As far as challenging parts of the job go, work- ing in a kitchen makes for a very com- petitive environment, with a lot of talented people. But this competitive- ness also makes it really fun at the same time. We act like one big family! What is your favorite thing about Wente Vineyards? I love that Wente vineyards has three different tasting rooms – two at the estate property on tesla road and one here on the Arroyo road property. It's such a great feature that guests can come taste all the nth Degree wines and the hand-crafted wines from the Winemakers studio. And not only that, but we have a Greg nor- man-designed golf course that's really beautiful, and unbelievable concerts in the summer. It's just a great place to visit. What do you like to do in your spare time? I like to go out and eat at various restaurants whenever I get the chance. I also like to go see movies. And I like to explore and search for cool shops – anytime I come across a unique shop I'm more than happy to walk in. " From working as a fill-in on the grill … to directing staff, it's been an exciting ride. " – JOSHUA LEIDREITER, Executive Sous Chef JOSHUA LEIDREITER n New Executive Sous Chef loves creating in The Restaurant

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