Kitchen Collective
IN NAPA VALLEY, THERE’S A PRIVATE CLUB DESIGNED FOR COOKING ENTHUSIASTS
While shared tasting rooms are fairly common today, in 2002, the idea was somewhat of a novelty. However, it’s a concept that Garret Murphy realized when he opened Vintner’s Collective, a tasting room that housed a select group of Napa’s boutique wineries all in one space. Today, Murphy’s turned his attention toward another revolutionary brainchild, a prestigious urban cooking club. Next month Kitchen Collective will open its doors in downtown Napa at 1650 Soscol Avenue. Part restaurant and part country club, Kitchen Collective is a members-only social club that is centered around the activities of a shared state-of-the-art kitchen. Currently, it’s the only culinary club of this sort in the nation.
Murphy hopes to create an epicurean experience in a nonpretentious, yet luxurious setting. “The shared kitchen lets members have fun creating a unique meal with a professional chef using new tools, and share it with their friends and family,” he said. Members have access to the Collective’s gourmet kitchen—that is stocked with tools and ingredients not available to the everyday home cook—and its professional chef. The Collective will host exclusive events including food classes, culinary competitions and visiting chef and vintner dinners and tastings. As well as being a space where members can host an elegant dinner party, the Collective will have a full bar and menu of bites. The private club requires an initiation fee and has tiered membership with full or social access options. Social members are not allowed to use the kitchen, but can partake in the food-centric festivities.
Access to the club doesn’t come cheap, but is less expensive than many other private clubs in the area: Full memberships start at $250 per month plus an initiation fee of $2,500. Full members are allowed access to utilize the club’s fully-stocked kitchen and professional chef. Social Memberships, just allowing members to use the club’s facilities outside the kitchen, start at $150 per month with a $1,500 initiation fee. All members can bring guests and are invited to exclusive member events like cooking classes and competitions with visiting chef and winemakers.