Meet Ari Weiswasser: Executive Chef at Park Avenue Catering and the Acclaimed Chef and Proprietor Behind the Glen Ellen Star and Stella

the michelin recognized chef who’s catering events across sonoma county

All too often, catered food is associated with compromise. The meal that guests come to expect at a large event is rarely one they'd seek out in a restaurant. But to Executive Chef Ari Weiswasser, catering should never mean sacrificing quality.

Chef Ari Weiswasser is Redefining Catering at Park Avenue

Bringing Restaurant Standards Beyond Restaurant Walls

With an impressive culinary background that includes renowned kitchens like Restaurant Daniel** and The French Laundry***, followed by the opening of Sonoma County favorite Glen Ellen Star, Ari built his career around thoughtful, ingredient-driven cooking. His journey into catering wasn't a departure from restaurant dining, rather it was an opportunity to bring those same standards beyond restaurant walls and into events of every size.

Ari first began exploring catering from the Glen Ellen Star kitchen, but as demand quickly outgrew his space, he looked to Park Avenue Catering—the company that had catered his own wedding in 2007—to help continue that vision. Drawn to Park Avenue’s longstanding commitment to exceptional hospitality, Ari purchased controlling interest in 2020. Since then, Ari and the Park Avenue team have continued to redefine the way guests experience catered cuisine, proving that a vineyard celebration, private estate dinner, or large-scale gathering can deliver the same level of creativity, precision, and hospitality found in the finest restaurants.

From His Restaurants to Your Event

thoughtful menus for every occasion

Whether he’s developing new dishes at the recently-opened SMASH or plating an entrée on-site at an event, every menu Ari crafts is unique. However, his creative process always starts in the same place: Who are we cooking for?

Each dish has to taste incredible, but it also needs to be scalable under real event conditions.

A wedding calls for a different experience than a corporate fundraiser. A wine dinner requires a different approach than an intimate backyard celebration. Likewise, creating a menu for an event is fundamentally different from creating one for a restaurant. Every dish must be conceived with the setting, service, and guest experience in mind, ensuring it is just as memorable as it would be in an established restaurant kitchen.

Understanding the purpose of the event allows Park Avenue to design menus that not only showcase incredible flavors but also complement the occasion, and perform as planned under real event conditions.

Seasonality, local sourcing, and flawless execution all play a role, but creativity isn't about making food more complicated. "It's about solving problems elegantly," Ari says. “Sometimes the most creative dish is the one that looks effortless because every decision behind it was intentional.”

As Executive Chef at Park Avenue Catering, Ari is responsible for shaping the company's culinary vision. Yet, his role extends far beyond creating menus: he describes it as equal parts chef, designer, problem solver, and coach.

While he still enjoys being hands-on in the kitchen, much of his focus is now on mentoring the team, refining systems, and ensuring every chef has the tools to succeed. Behind every event are countless hours spent developing menus, training chefs, visiting venues, and refining recipes. Whether the team is serving an intimate dinner for 20 guests or a gala for 500, Ari's goal is the same: to deliver a consistent level of quality, hospitality, and care at every event.

If you walked into the kitchen

there’s a good chance Ari would be tasting sauces, adjusting recipes, talking through logistics with the team, helping plate food or sketching ideas for new menus.

Behind the Menu

inspiration is everywhere

For Ari, inspiration for new dishes is all around. While travel remains one of his greatest influences, many ideas emerge from everyday experiences. Cookbooks, conversations with fellow chefs, farmers' markets, or simply dining out all play a role in shaping his creative process.

His restaurants give him a place to constantly develop ideas. Catering allows him to take those ideas outside four walls.

Some ideas are sparked by meals at renowned fine dining restaurants, while others originate in far humbler settings such as a roadside barbecue or a neighbourhood trattoria.

Social media has also become an important source of inspiration. Over the years, Ari has curated a network of influential chefs whose philosophies resonate with his own, allowing him to stay connected to evolving techniques, ingredients, and culinary trends.

Many of these ideas come to life in Ari's restaurants: Glen Ellen Star, Stella, and SMASH. While their menus aren't identical to Park Avenue's, the same philosophy of thoughtful food, seasonal ingredients, and genuine hospitality guides each one. The ideas and techniques developed in Ari's restaurants naturally filter into Park Avenue Catering's menus, ensuring the same local, farm-to-table approach that guests have come to know and love.

Surrounded by some of the country's finest purveyors, Sonoma and Napa provide Ari with endless inspiration through its farms, ranches, cheesemakers, fishermen, and winemakers. Whenever possible, ingredients are sourced locally, because in Ari’s opinion, fresh seasonal ingredients speak for themselves. For him, quality always comes first; it’s merely an added bonus that these exceptional ingredients also showcase the very best of what Wine Country has to offer.

Our Shared Philosophy

One vision. different settings.

The connection between Ari's restaurants and Park Avenue Catering is a natural one. While each business serves a different purpose, they are linked through their shared vision. Park Avenue Catering allows Ari to extend the restaurant experience beyond four walls, bringing the same intentional approach to weddings, private dinners, and corporate events throughout Wine Country.

As a result, guests who first experience Ari's menus at a catered wedding or private dinner often become restaurant regulars, while restaurant guests frequently turn to Park Avenue Catering when planning milestone celebrations, weddings, and corporate events. Whether served in a restaurant or at an event, our clients and guests know their experience is guided by our shared intentional approach to both food and hospitality.

why choose park avenue

In Ari’s opinion, anyone can cook one great dinner. The real challenge is serving hundreds of guests without sacrificing quality.

Park Avenue Catering has spent years refining systems, processes and expertise that allow the team to execute at the highest level, no matter the event size.

For those searching for a caterer, Ari's advice is simple: look for people who genuinely care.

"Beautiful food matters," he says, "but professionalism, communication, adaptability, and hospitality are what guests remember long after the plates are cleared."