2023 Speakers & Presenters

Tracey Shepos Cenami, Chef of La Crema Winery

Tracey Shepos Cenami grew up in a family that was always cooking. Her Italian Nana and mother put considerable thought into everyday meals, treating each as a special occasion.

After years in the culinary world, Tracey was drawn to the wine industry, which she found to be a natural transition. She loved the prospect of living in wine country and having the opportunity to create food to pair with specific wines. Before joining the Kendall-Jackson team, she worked for eight years as the executive chef for Stark Reality restaurants, a Sonoma County restaurant group. During her tenure there, she helped to open five different restaurants and create a catering department. She also worked under Chef Michael Romano at Union Square Café for two years.

Tracey played a pivotal role in developing the culinary program at the Kendall-Jackson Wine Center, including introducing a VIP wine and cheese pairing experience - a lesson in the fundamentals of wine and cheese pairing which expertly pairs local artisan cheeses with Kendall-Jackson wines. Her recipes have been published in magazines and newspapers, and she is a three-time winner of Food Network's Guy's Grocery Games.

When Tracey is not creating perfect pairings, she enjoys spending time outside with her husband and son barbecuing in the backyard or eating oysters on the Sonoma Coast. Her personal favorite pairing is Kendall-Jackson Pinot Noir with bacon, almonds and Valley Ford Estero Gold cheese.

Alyssa Gilbert, Graze + Gather Co.

Alyssa Gilbert is the owner and founder of Graze + Gather Co., an artisan cheese shop and catering company located in Downtown Oakland that specializes in 100% American-made cheese + charcuterie. She is passionate about community and good food, and bringing the two together. She sources only the highest quality ingredients from small-batch local or domestic makers she knows and loves. Graze + Gather Co. is here to help the world Eat More American Cheese!

Jeff and Susam Mall, Volo Chocolate

Jeff and Susan Mall are married chefs and former Sonoma County restaurant owners who founded Volo Chocolate, a ‘bean to bar’ chocolate company. Their journey into chocolate making started while they were living in Mexico and cooking at a small beach hotel at the Southern tip of Baja where they fell in love with the flavors and soul of Mexican chocolate. They spent many hours experimenting with cacao and the ways they could bring out flavors through various techniques and ingredients to make their own chocolate. Having spent 1 1/2 years working in Mexico, they were ready to get back to Northern California.

Upon returning home to Sonoma County they founded Volo Chocolate with the goal of building upon their experience of making chocolate in Mexico. As ‘Chefs who make chocolate’ they focus on creating balanced flavors that stand out in the world of craft chocolate. Volo only uses Certified organic, ultra premium Cacao sourced through Transparent Trade for it’s bars.  Since it’s founding in 2016 Volo has been recognized as one of the top ‘bean to bar’ chocolate makers in the country and has won 9 awards in two different International chocolate competitions. Volo Chocolate can be found at fine stores, wineries, and restaurant menus throughout Wine Country, Northern California and beyond.

Laura Werlin, Author

Laura Werlin is one of the country’s foremost authorities on cheese. She is a James Beard award-winning author of six books on the subject and a sought-after speaker and spokesperson for consumer and trade organizations. She is also a popular presenter at food and wine festivals around the country and she is often tapped by wineries to present cheese and wine pairings to consumers and trade alike. In addition, Laura is a corporate speaker and team-build leader.When Laura isn’t eating or teaching about cheese, she can be found jogging on the streets of San Francisco, where she lives, or hiking in the mountains, which she loves.

Clark Wolf

Clark Wolf is a nationally known food and restaurant consultant, forbes.com commentator and host of At The Table with Clark Wolf on KSRO 1350AM and 103.5FM. He was a founder of the American Cheese Society and founded the California Artisan Cheese Guild. He is the author of American Cheeses from Simon and Schuster (2008) and a contributor to The Oxford Companion to Cheese. He helped found the nation’s first Food Studies program at NYU and splits his time between Manhattan and a hundred year old loggers cabin in the redwoods in Northwestern Sonoma County.