Wine’s Most Inspiring People 2025: Christopher Czarnecki — Foraging for Success and Elevating Oregon’s Wine and Culinary Scene

By Laura Ness

Christopher Czarnecki, owner of The Joel Palmer House in Dayton, Ore., was born into a family of chefs. His grandparents ran a restaurant named Joe’s, in Reading, Penn., founded in 1916 by his great-grandfather, a barman and gambler. It became a speakeasy during Prohibition. His grandparents continued the restaurant’s tradition of Polish food, with mushrooms a mainstay.

“My grandfather was an amateur mycologist,” says Czarnecki. “He’s the one the local hospitals would call if a toddler ate a mushroom off the front lawn.”  

His parents took over Joe’s in 1975. “They upgraded from being a French-Polish fine dining restaurant to a mushroom-centric fine dining restaurant,” says Czarnecki, who began his culinary career filling water glasses at age 9.  He drew inspiration from cookbooks by Georges Perrier and Susanna Foo, as well as from his father’s cookbooks, Joe’s Book of Mushroom Cookery, A Cook’s Book of Mushrooms (which won a James Beard award) and Portobello Cookbook, all still available today. 

In 2003, Czarnecki joined the Army, working in food service, with a year of service in Iraq. He quickly learned that spicing up dishes met with reprimand, not applause. “There was no creative freedom, but I learned the importance of speed and cleanliness.”

A Move West

Reading was a dying town and so, in 2006, in pursuit of their dream of a wine country restaurant, his parents moved to Dayton, Ore., establishing The Joel Palmer House. Chris joined them, taking over the restaurant in 2008. His “Mushroom Madness” menus showcase Oregon’s bounty, including matsutake and morels. “I’ve done a 7-course lobster and all Oregon Chardonnay dinner, Truffle Tasting Dinners with Oregon Pinot, and other pairings that showcase mushrooms and Oregon wines.” He’s famous for splendid dishes such as elk tartare with black trumpets, acorn squash and lobster mushroom bisque, and pan-seared scallops with chantarelles. 

Czarnecki and his wife, Mary, are building their own vegetable garden to provide hyper-local produce, such as Chinese long beans and heirloom corn, to the restaurant. 

Wine and Ethics

Public Relations guru Carl Giavanti praises Czarnecki’s commitment to fine dining and his ethical treatment of vendors and restaurant employees. “Christopher has supported the Oregon Wine Industry since 2006, continuing the mission his father started. He has built the largest collection of Willamette Valley Pinot Noirs in the world, with more than 600 SKUs and upwards of 2,000 bottles.”  Joel Palmer Restaurant has held a Wine Spectator “Best of” Award of Excellence since 2010.

But it’s not just about bottle count. Since 2006, Czarnecki has hosted the largest annual Oregon Wine Industry Appreciation Party, a tasting and networking event, where winemakers, tasting room staff, owners and cellar rats gather. “Hundreds of wineries have participated, and one year we counted more than 600 attendees!” he says. 

Czarnecki’s no tipping policy at the restaurant is replaced by a flat 20% service fee that funds full medical, dental and a 401K match for employees. “You live your values or you don’t,” says Czarnecki. “There are plenty of ways to make money, but how do you do it without compromising your soul?  You make money, ethically. It hurts a lot of the time. But in the long run, you win and you’ll have a family that loves you.”

Laura Ness

Laura Ness is an avid wine journalist, storyteller and wine columnist (Edible:Monterey, Los Gatos Magazine San Jose Mercury News, The Livermore Independent), and a long time contributor to Wine Industry Network. Known as “HerVineNess,” she judges wine competitions throughout California and has a corkscrew in every purse. However, she wishes that all wineries would adopt screwcaps!