Wine’s Most Inspiring Folks 2025: Christopher Czarnecki — Foraging for Success and Elevating Oregon’s Wine and Culinary Scene

By Laura Ness

Christopher Czarnecki, proprietor of The Joel Palmer Home in Dayton, Ore., was born right into a household of cooks. His grandparents ran a restaurant named Joe’s, in Studying, Penn., based in 1916 by his great-grandfather, a barman and gambler. It turned a speakeasy throughout Prohibition. His grandparents continued the restaurant’s custom of Polish meals, with mushrooms a mainstay.

“My grandfather was an newbie mycologist,” says Czarnecki. “He’s the one the native hospitals would name if a toddler ate a mushroom off the entrance garden.”  

His dad and mom took over Joe’s in 1975. “They upgraded from being a French-Polish advantageous eating restaurant to a mushroom-centric advantageous eating restaurant,” says Czarnecki, who started his culinary profession filling water glasses at age 9.  He drew inspiration from cookbooks by Georges Perrier and Susanna Foo, in addition to from his father’s cookbooks, Joe’s Ebook of Mushroom Cookery, A Cook dinner’s Ebook of Mushrooms (which received a James Beard award) and Portobello Cookbook, all nonetheless accessible at this time. 

In 2003, Czarnecki joined the Military, working in meals service, with a yr of service in Iraq. He shortly realized that spicing up dishes met with reprimand, not applause. “There was no artistic freedom, however I realized the significance of velocity and cleanliness.”

A transfer west

Studying was a dying city and so, in 2006, in pursuit of their dream of a wine nation restaurant, his dad and mom moved to Dayton, Ore., establishing The Joel Palmer Home. Chris joined them, taking up the restaurant in 2008. His “Mushroom Insanity” menus showcase Oregon’s bounty, together with matsutake and morels. “I’ve accomplished a 7-course lobster and all Oregon Chardonnay dinner, Truffle Tasting Dinners with Oregon Pinot, and different pairings that showcase mushrooms and Oregon wines.” He’s well-known for splendid dishes reminiscent of elk tartare with black trumpets, acorn squash and lobster mushroom bisque, and pan-seared scallops with chantarelles. 

Czarnecki and his spouse, Mary, are constructing their very own vegetable backyard to supply hyper-local produce, reminiscent of Chinese language lengthy beans and heirloom corn, to the restaurant. 

Wine and ethics

Public Relations guru Carl Giavanti praises Czarnecki’s dedication to advantageous eating and his moral remedy of distributors and restaurant workers. “Christopher has supported the Oregon Wine Trade since 2006, persevering with the mission his father began. He has constructed the biggest assortment of Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs on the earth, with greater than 600 SKUs and upwards of two,000 bottles.”  Joel Palmer Restaurant has held a Wine Spectator “Better of” Award of Excellence since 2010.

However it’s not nearly bottle depend. Since 2006, Czarnecki has hosted the biggest annual Oregon Wine Trade Appreciation Celebration, a tasting and networking occasion, the place winemakers, tasting room workers, homeowners and cellar rats collect. “Lots of of wineries have participated, and one yr we counted greater than 600 attendees!” he says. 

Czarnecki’s no tipping coverage on the restaurant is changed by a flat 20% service payment that funds full medical, dental and a 401K match for workers. “You reside your values otherwise you don’t,” says Czarnecki. “There are many methods to earn a living, however how do you do it with out compromising your soul?  You earn a living, ethically. It hurts quite a lot of the time. However in the long term, you win and you’ll have a household that loves you.”

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Laura Ness

Laura Ness is an avid wine journalist, storyteller and wine columnist (Edible:Monterey, Los Gatos Journal San Jose Mercury Information, The Livermore Unbiased), and a very long time contributor to Wine Trade Community. Referred to as “HerVineNess,” she judges wine competitions all through California and has a corkscrew in each purse. Nonetheless, she needs that every one wineries would undertake screwcaps!