Vice President of Cultivation & Production, Aaron Keefer of Sonoma Hills Farm
Prior to joining in February 2020, Aaron Keefer held a ten-year tenure as culinary gardener for the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group (TKG), which includes famed, three-Michelin Star restaurant, The French Laundry, in Napa, California. Keefer’s green thumb and passion for the land emerged as a young child in his grandfather’s farm in upstate New York. In the restaurant world Keefer built a reputation as one of the most respected gardeners in the industry. From the life of soil to pest management, microbial and fungal elements to the weather, he understands that gardening does not exist in a vacuum. The finest ingredients are produced in harmony with nature and the elements that it brings. Furthermore, Keefer cultivated legal and top-shelf medical cannabis flower that sold at premium dispensaries like The Apothecarium, Grass Roots, and Peace in Medicine (now SPARC) before 2018 under Proposition 215 guidelines. Before developing his passion for culinary gardening, Keefer honed his culinary skills under notable Bay Area Chefs Michael Chiarello and Julian Serrano and subsequently became the Executive Chef at Marin Country Club, where he was later promoted as its Food and Beverage Director. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America.