SHED’s Perry Hoffman Returns to Mendocino Roots at Boonville Hotel

Just months before Healdsburg SHED closed its gorgeous, glassy doors at the end of 2018, culinary director Perry Hoffman announced his own departure after three years. The chef, who has racked up accolades there, and earned a Michelin star at étoile at Domaine Chandon, is now leading the kitchen at the Boonville Hotel in bucolic Anderson Valley.

After some traveling and time off, the chef is back in action, joining the hotel as a partner in January. It’s a family affair, owned by Hoffman’s uncle, Johnny Schmitt, who purchased the property in 1988 (and gave Hoffman one of his first cooking jobs). Hoffman is bringing his fine-dining aesthetic to the erstwhile roadhouse, which undergone renovations throughout the years on its seven guest rooms and dining room.

During his formative cooking years, Hoffman worked at both the Boonville Hotel, with his grandmother at the Apple Farm in Philo. (It’s worth noting that before taking over that property, those grandparents —Sally and Don Schmitt — were the original owners of the French Laundry.)

Lucille Lawrence

Lucille Lawrence

As part of Hoffman’s homecoming, he’s created a menu that blends his fine dining background with his local upbringing. That means that while the reimagined restaurant (formerly Table 128) offers a prix fixe on Friday and Saturday, it’s served family-style with dishes like veal sweetbreads served with grilled artichokes, shallots, and whipped black pepper buttermilk. Starting at 5:30 p.m on Thursday through Saturday, a menu of small plates is available, with bites like halibut crudo with fiddlehead ferns, avocado, mint, and lime. Check out the menus below.

For summer, Sunday night paella dinners will take place in the hotel’s courtyards, and a taco stand, El Puesto, will pop-up for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

• Shed, Award-Winning Restaurant and Marketplace, Will Close in Sonoma [ESF]
• Changes at Healdburg SHED as Chef Leaves for Europe [ESF]
• Boonville Hotel [Official]