Restaurants
Top Chef’s Casey Thompson Is Putting Her Stamp on Sonoma
Photo by Erika Cole PhotographyWhen Chef Casey Thompson first appeared on Top Chef: Miami in 2007, she took the culinary world by storm. Her skills and personality won her admirers around the country as she finished as a runner-up in the competition and was voted Fan Favorite. Her television journey didn’t end there; she went on to compete on Top Chef: All Stars, Top Chef: Charleston and Tournament of Champions. But her Bay Area fans can count themselves lucky enough to have a chance to actually taste her food if they make the quick jaunt over to Sonoma.
As executive chef at the four-time Michelin Bib Gourmand–awarded Folktable Restaurant, Thompson experiences a decidedly different day-to-day life than what we’ve seen on screen. First, she’s not competing against anyone there. Second, she’s commanding a kitchen staff rather than operating on her own. But that doesn’t mean she’s not getting her hands dirty.
“It’s a chef’s dream to be able to work together with a farm, and literally cross the road to pick something if I need it,” Thompson says, referring to Folktable’s neighbor and partner, Tank House Farms. “We have the fresh factor here, and this beautiful Sonoma sunshine and it’s so chill, so country.”
Located in Cornerstone Sonoma, the harvest-to-table restaurant is quite a leap from the Texas kitchens where Thompson got her start. Her post–Top Chef path led her to a variety of international destinations, but she eventually made her way to California, working in both San Francisco and Rancho Santa Fe in SoCal before finding the call to Wine Country too strong to resist. And while Folktable was established in 2020, a decidedly tough time for the restaurant industry, it has flourished, becoming a favorite not just for Sonoma locals, but for day-trippers from Marin, Napa and beyond. Many are likely drawn there for a chance to try the food of a famous chef, but the restaurant’s methods and menu are certainly speaking for themselves (fun fact: the spot also offers a menu just for pets). Folktable has its own chickens, raised in Dixon, and a slaughterhouse in partnership with Tank House Farms. And given the collaboration between the restaurant and the farm, the shareables, salads, soups and larger plates served are naturally seasonal and just about as fresh as you can get.
“What is so unique about the climate here is we have some crops that come in much later than normal,” Thompson says. “So we have a melon salad late into the fall, and since our squash barely starts to come in until the fall, it carries over into our winter dishes.”
Keep an eye out for the venerated chef next time you’re there: “I’m in the kitchen most of the time, but when I’m not, I’m crossing the floor and talking to guests or I’m at the farm,” she says. “I’m all over the place.”
