Brian Casey, food and wine pairing program, Imagery Winery, Glen Ellen
Brian Casey grew up in Petaluma, California and started working in the restaurant industry at age 15, first as a dishwasher, then a busboy and a server. While working at Petaluma’s DeSchmire restaurant, he took up an interest in cooking, shadowing and learning from the chef. He’d always been surrounded by excellent home cooks in his childhood and had spent time in the kitchen with his family growing up. He moved to San Francisco and worked for two iconic and beloved restaurants, Kimpton Hotels’ Grand Cafe and Puccini & Pinetti, as a server and a bartender, respectively. He worked for Hornblower Cruises and Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery as well before moving to Maui to join the food and beverage team at the Four Seasons Resort at Wailea. When the hotel group made plans to open up Seasons restaurant in the San Francisco location, Brian decided to return to the Bay Area to help open up the restaurant. After three years at Seasons, Brian decided to return to another passion of his – wine. He joined the team at Imagery Winery in Glen Ellen for what he thought was just a temporary position. He stayed for five years and launched the winery’s food and wine pairing program.
Brian also ran a catering company and meal delivery service on the side called My Organic Chef. He then went on to work at ESTATE, sister restaurant to The Girl & The Fig. The restaurant permanently closed and Brian joined The Girl & The Fig to run the restaurant’s wine program and manage the bar. The wine program was, and still is, focused solely on Rhone varietals. The cocktails were typically old classics with a fresh twist. Brian fully immersed himself in this role and began creating original cocktail recipes like the Bon Vivant and, one which has become the restaurant’s most popular – The Optimist, made with gin, The Perfect Purée Cranberry Puree, ginger beer and lemon-cardamom simple syrup. Since creating this cocktail, Brian has made The Perfect Purée products a staple in his bar program.
He loves the versatility and consistency of The Perfect Purée flavors. The frozen purees save him time and also storage space, which can be limited at times. “It’s so easy just to pull the purees out of the freezer and have it ready to go – no prep work,” he says. The price is reasonable as well. He’s still making his way through each flavor, experimenting and testing along the way. He also created a recipe called the Well Miss with flavors reminiscent of a day at the spa. It’s made with green tea vodka, The Perfect Purée Ginger Puree, agave nectar and topped with fresh edible flowers.