PlumpJack Cafe – Tucked away at the base of Squaw Valley USA, an artful dining experience awaits…

He was born in Boston and given the name Ben Ireland Dufresne, but it wasn’t until he moved to Lake Tahoe that he became ‘Wyatt’.

Dufresne spent his life working with food, from his first experience at a New York fish market, to an organic farm in Maine, to cooking in Vermont, Colorado, and finally to California in 2002. That’s when he found himself in the kitchen of the PlumpJack Cafe in Squaw Valley.

“Everyone has nicknames in the kitchen,” Dufresne said. He had a curled moustache reminiscent of old Wyatt Earp pictures, “So everyone started calling me Wyatt, and that was it.”

In his nearly two decades of kitchen experience, Dufresne built a knowledge base that includes everything from preparing fresh seafood and butchering whole animals to an extensive understanding of high end products and ingredients from around the world.

With degrees in both biology and environmental studies, Dufresne built on theoretical knowledge with practical application during his experience in the kitchen. His biology background gave him a solid understanding of animal anatomy, a knowledge he applies through his execution in the PlumpJack kitchen. His environmental study established his cognizance of where food is harvested and how it’s grown. Dufresne says his education played a large role in the development of his farm-to-table based culinary philosophy.

“We buy produce and meat from small farms, not big feed lots. It’s better for the consumer as well as the environment,” Dufresne said.

Moving to California was another significant advancement in Dufresne’s culinary career.

“There was no farm-to-table movement in the East Coast yet. When I moved to California it was a whole new world of produce. I’ve worked very hard to develop relationships with small farmers in Northern California so we can provide the best ingredients to our guests,” Dufresne said.

Dufresne says PlumpJack can be defined as fine dining-but it’s more than that; it’s New American Cuisine with an emphasis on local, seasonal, organic ingredients.

PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn (SVI) general manager Steve Lamb had the opportunity to witness the farm-to-table evolution implemented by Dufresne first hand,

“Wyatt has a great sensibility of organic food and works well with the bounty of California seasons. It’s been great to see him grow and elevate our program. He’s always willing to be challenged and think outside the box. Wyatt’s cultivated many great relationships with farmers and purveyors. He even visits the farmer’s markets in the summer and brings back great local produce to integrate into our menu,” Lamb said.

The PlumpJack menu is revamped four times per year by Dufresene and executive chefs Shawn Arney and Jack Connell based on seasonal produce, availability of ingredients, and the wine selection currently in the PlumpJack cellar.

This winter, look for menu ingredients like butternut squash, pomegranate, persimmon, and winter greens. Popular menu items from last year were the kabocha squash soup with Dungeness crab and poached cranberries, and the pumpkin crème brulee.

Dufresne says the kitchen staff seeks ways to challenge themselves with new approaches and execution techniques. One unique new approach executed in the PlumpJack kitchen is the use of liquid nitrogen.

“We’ve been having a lot of fun with freezing fruit, like blackberries. The blackberries freeze and shatter like citrus confetti,” Dufresne said.

In addition to the modern and uniquely tailored menu, PlumpJack has an essential wine program integrated with food philosophy.

“We strive to make wine more accessible through our program by offering it at less of an expense to our customers, and we seek to introduce wine that the general public wouldn’t get otherwise,” Dufresne said.

Approaches PlumpJack uses in order to engage guests about food and wine are seasonal events like the Wine Series and Farm to Table Dinners.

PlumpJack hosts the Wine Series January through March and July through September. Winemakers host the dinner along with PlumpJack management and discuss the details of each course and wine pairing as they are presented.

“It’s an opportunity for us to have a little bit of fun with guests by introducing them to seasonal dishes. It’s also a fantastic collaboration between chef and winemaker, and it provides guests the opportunity to enjoy a meal that was prepared specifically for that evening. It’s a warm and casual experience executed on a high level,” Lamb said.

Farm to Table dinners are paired with wineries and hosted seasonally. The structure of the meal is similar to the Wine Series dinners, with the farmers and winemakers as co-hosts of the dinner.

“All events range from family style dinners on the patio to dishes incorporated into the dining room menu. We wanted to take some pretention out of the mystique of wine and give people a comfortable opportunity to really explore new wine in a fun, approachable, enthusiastic way. Our goal is to forever over deliver for our guests,” Lamb said.

PlumpJack structures the events to be as educational or as personal of an experience as the guest desires, depending on the guest’s preference.

“PlumpJack is all about providing personal experiences for our guests that are memorable. We don’t try to be formal and pretentious or an overly casual ski town cliché. We let the guests drive their own experience. We can provide a fine dining experience or a casual experience based on the customer,” Dufresne said.

“We receive guests for après ski, lunch after a hike, or to have a meal in the dining room. We have to remember where we are-in Squaw Valley at the base of a resort-it’s our goal to provide casual or elevated experiences so anyone can come and belong.”

Who is PlumpJack?

It began with the rotund, irreverent, fun-loving Jack Falstaff of Shakespeare’s Henry IV. Queen Elizabeth was so delighted with the roguish character that she asked the Bard to write another play in which Jack would fall in love (later to become The Merry Wives of Windsor).

Closer to home, San Francisco composer and philanthropist Gordon Getty wrote an opera called “Plump Jack” – a namesake he carried through with Gavin Newsom when founding PlumpJack Wines in San Francisco’s Marina District in 1992.

The Shakespearean theme runs strongly through PlumpJack’s namesake, décor, and even the house wine is called “Speare”.

The PlumpJack Group consists of four resorts, with three in Napa Valley and one in Squaw Valley. There are two restaurant/bars in San Francisco, three in Napa Valley, one in Squaw Valley, and one in Mill Valley. Two PlumpJack wine shops can be found in San Francisco. Also part of the PlumpJack Group are spas and boutiques in Squaw Valley and Napa.

PlumpJack currently has two wineries in operation, PlumpJack Winery and Cade Winery in Napa, with the new Odette Estate winery slated to release its first vintage in 2015.

“That’s the exciting thing about PlumpJack, we’re always changing. It started as one winery, now we have three. We’re always looking for new properties and ventures, whatever works best for the customer base,” Dufresne said.

PlumpJack Squaw Valley Inn was built as the home for the 1960 Winter Olympic delegation. The inn is comprised of multiple buildings that accommodate dining, lodging, special events, and equipment rentals. The property’s location is ideal, bordering Squaw Village but just far enough that it offers the intimacy harder to find within the resort. Dufresne says he believes those aspects are what sets PlumpJack apart from other resort accommodations.

“PlumpJack is a boutique hotel situated at the base of some of the best skiing in the world. Additionally, PlumpJack is a winery, bar, conference center, and sport shop, and we’re an independent business. We offer multiple facets that make us unique to other businesses,” Dufresne said.

Lamb says the staff shares a collective appreciation for the brand and the location of PlumpJack SVI,

“PlumpJack’s setting is small and accessible, it’s very unique. It provides us the opportunity to work and live in Tahoe, and we’re all bonded by that camaraderie. Getting to look at the slopes while walking here makes it a pretty good place to get to come to work, and having great connections to San Francisco is really fun for us,” Lamb said.

The food, wine, and hospitality philosophy expressed by Dufesne and Lamb provides a deeper understanding of PlumpJack’s highly regarded tagline: Honest, Approachable, Passionate.

This article is an excerpt from Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty’s Winter/Spring issue of Tahoe Legacy magazine. Stay tuned for more updates about Tahoe Legacy. Are you considering a relocation or second home purchase in Lake Tahoe? Contact one of our local experts to find out more about opportunities with our extraordinary listings and living in Reno-Tahoe. Contribute to the conversation using #SierraSothebys, #LakeTahoeLuxury, and “Like” our Facebook page to receive instant updates. For more information about the PlumpJack Café, visit www.plumpjacksquawvalleyinn.com.