“The Reno-Tahoe area may be a smaller town, but the food scene is percolating!” Chef Charlie Palmer explains. Although he spends his hours consulting (currently) 14 bars and restaurants, he’s spent quite a bit of time in the Biggest Little City as his restaurant rolodex includes Charlie Palmer Steak, which opened inside the Grand Sierra Resort in 2007.
Mr. Palmer, and after interviewing him, Charlie, has a culinary resume one can only dream of. And with humble beginnings, growing up in a small farming community in upstate New York, for decades he’s let his talent (and kind demeanor) trickle from his flagship restaurant, Aureole, in New York City branch out into the rooftop bar and hotel industries.
Continually Pivoting
“It’s all about hospitality, and cooking is just a part of that,” he says confidently.
His most-recent venture, alongside his trusty team, is set to open in June 2025. Appellation hotel is in his current home base of Healdsburg, Calif. It’s where service, atmosphere, treatment, and now technology (alongside great food) all combine to create a memorable experience. While it’s just a hop, skip, and jump away (approximately a four and a half hour trek from Reno), he says his group is always keeping an eye on the Biggest Little market and sees potential expansion opportunity there.
Regardless if it manifests in a restaurant, bar, hotel, or something else, Charlie is passionate about keeping things fresh, both veggies and ideas. That’s why his steakhouse menus not only feature all you’d expect from a steakhouse—red wine paired with perfectly cooked filet and a slab of buttery potatoes, but also include various fish, vegetable dishes, and sides honoring the variety of ingredients available.
This creativity comes from his travels, experiences, and great collaborations within the industry. Essentially, despite success, Charlie never rests on his laurels. The one thing that’s tied all of his ventures together, that love of regional and American ingredients, access to quality food, and embracing the bounty of the season. And it’s this methodology, and carefully crafted partnerships, that have gotten him far.
Building Future Leaders
Boasting could come quite naturally for Charlie, with two James Beard wins, an additional three nominations, and many Michelin Stars. But, when asked about his accomplishments, he says he is actually “most proud of the people who have come out of our businesses.”
This spirit of giving back to the next generation isn’t anything new, either. Palmer has served as a trustee of the Culinary Institute of America for 12 years and a Chairman Emeriti for an additional nine years. There, now with a vast imprint and four campuses, Charlie has taught, watched, and learned, surely influencing his tastes, love of wine, and restaurant directionality.
His latest (home) passion is experimenting with donabe (or clay pot) cooking. While, for years, he cooked for his wife Lisa and four boys (along with the entire football team it seemed), he now enjoys cooking for Lisa and a few friends, whether it’s complex broths or humble rices with vegetables and ingredients from their bountiful home garden.
Putting The Wine in Dine
“I’m a true believer as a chef, and culinarian… we’re only as good as the ingredients we start with,” says Palmer. His home life is headquartered in Healdsburg, mostly for the access to his vineyard, which produces small batch Pinot Noir for his restaurants. What started out as a well-paired hobby has evolved into a sweet return. Seventeen vintages later, he says he’s making world-class pinot noir and still enjoying every second of it.
Sonoma County, where Healdsburg is located, is also a mecca for easily grown gardens and farmers market-fresh ingredients. It’s where Charlie is able to continually draw inspiration for wine-forward tasting menus.
And if you’re curious (like I was) if the famous culinarian is watching Hulu’s popular TV show, The Bear (on FX or Hulu)… he is. While many in the industry have critiqued its harsh depiction of the atmosphere in kitchens, Palmer takes a lighter route in his viewing, saying that anything that brings awareness and excitement to your craft can be entertaining but also positive for the industry as a whole.
And that’s Charlie—taking it all in, and with ingenuity and well-researched guise, throwing it back for us all to enjoy.
Charlie Palmer Steak
Inside Grand Sierra Resort
Reno, NV
Grandsierraresort.com
“It’s all about hospitality, cooking is just a part of that.”
“I made the decision to become a chef early on in life, really just because I fell in love with food.”