The Wine and Mushroom Train pulling into Camp Mendocino

Guests began arriving at the Willits Skunk Train Depot at 9 am and were treated to an array of coffee, tea and pastries from Kemmy’s Katering and Pies. The Skunk Train, which donated the use of the train for the day, departed at 10:30 am and headed deep into the heart of the redwoods.

Train Singer, Greg Schindel,

Train Singer, Greg Schindel

serenaded guests as they moved from car to car, including the observation deck where they were able to take in the beautiful autumn day.  Upon arrival at Camp Mendocino, an intimate room with a fireplace ablaze, hosted the silent auction and wine tasting served by several Mendocino County Wineries that included:

Chance Creek Vineyards

CORO Mendocino

Handley Cellars

Jaxon Keys Winery

Magnanimus Wine Group

McFadden Vineyard

Parducci Wine Cellars

Weibel Family Vineyards & Winery

The lunch menu, which was inspired by Chef and Author Jack Czarnecki, was inspired

Guests enjoy wines from America's Greenest Wine Region, Mendocino County while bidding on silent auction items.

“We are very pleased to have been able to work with so many different organizations from Mendocino County and we feel that everyone was able to benefit by working together.  In addition to many local people we had attendees from places as far as Canada, Oregon, Florida and Washington, DC.  We were able to tell the story of the new Howard Hospital to a wider audience and succeeded in expanding our donor base,” explains Ian Fitzpatrick of the Howard Foundation. “We’d like to thank all of the people and organizations that participated in the event, and we would especially like to thank our guests who chose to spend the day with us.”

Meet the Chef:

In a nationwide talent search in 1987 Jack Czarnecki was named one of the top 16 chefs in the country by the James Beard Foundation out of a field of 550 chefs in North America.

Jack has appeared on about television stations across the country including “Good Morning America” (two times), “The Home Show,” “Regis and Kathy Lee,” “the 60 Minute Gourmet,” “CBS Morning News,” and several cable features including three appearances on the Television Food Network, the Discovery channel, and QVC.

Magazine features include half a dozen features in airline magazines, Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Harrowsmith, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, People, and Town & Country among others.

Jack and Heidi, fulfilled a lifelong dream and opened The Joel Palmer House in Dayton, Oregon, which has received outstanding reviews in Food and Wine, and the New York Times as well as being named Restaurant of the Region by Willamette Week magazine in Portland.