Sarun Kao
Executive Chef
Sarun’s history with Sol Rouge goes back more than 10 years. While working in San Francisco with Sol Rouge (and the other associated wineries in the California Wine Group), Sarun developed a following for delivering high-quality food & wine experiences. Serving as head chef for banquets at The Winery SF, Sarun catered more than 500 events from 5 to over 500 people.
Starting in 2011 as the in-house caterer for weddings, fundraisers, and private and corporate events at The Winery SF, Sarun worked as head chef for Ludy’s Catering. After several years, Sarun branched off to start his own catering company, Foodies Catering, where he remained the in-house caterer for The Winery SF and the other associated wineries within the California Wine Group. Having delivered a world-class food and wine experience, The Winery SF was voted “Top 5 Wedding Venues in the San Francisco Bay Area” three different times.
Most recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sarun partnered with Sol Rouge opening a full service restaurant at Winemaker Studios on Treasure Island where Sol Rouge had its San Francisco Tasting Room. This 17,500 square foot outdoor restaurant quickly became one of San Francisco’s most popular destinations for “safe” food & wine experience in San Francisco during the pandemic. Sarun continues to serve as head chef for the Winery Collective, San Francisco’s iconic multi-winery tasting room where Sol Rouge wines are currently poured.
Sarun has a breadth of experience outside of that with Sol Rouge and The Winery SF. Sarun’s culinary career began at the age of 19, working at ShiRaSoni Japanese Restaurant in Stockton, CA. He worked his way up from dishwashing, to tempura to chef in a span of 4 years. Along with his catering experience noted above, Sarun also worked with The Buckhorn Restaurant Group, headquartered in Winters, CA where he played a number of roles at the renowned Buckhorn Steakhouse, as well as the Head Kitchen Supervisor/Chef at Buckhorn’s Putah Creek Cafe.
Sarun’s approach to cuisine is quite eclectic as he embraces aspects of all of his cooking experiences. Rather than focusing on a singular style, Sarun pulls from his exposure to high-end steakhouses, barbecue, American comfort foods, and more traditional Asian foods to deliver a food experience that spans cultures and fuses together a modern global savory dish. In Sarun’s native culture of Cambodia, food is love and that’s the outlook he believes. Good food shared with good people is one of life’s greatest pleasures!
We are delighted and honored that Sarun has joined us from our journey from San Francisco up to Lake County to help Sol Rouge deliver a unique epicurean experience complimenting the great wines of Lake County at On The Waterfront Restaurant.