A member of Relais & Chateaux, Blackberry Farm has won dozens of major awards for food, wine, service, and general excellence from Zagat, Travel + Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, and Southern Living, and is frequently ranked the #1 small hotel in the United States.  Proprietor SAM BEALL grew up on Blackberry Farm, which was founded by his parents, Kreis and Sandy Beall. After attending the California Culinary Academy, Sam Beall apprenticed at the French Laundry, the Ritz-Carlton, Cowgirl Creamery, and Chateau Potelle. He oversees the entire farmstead, from its restaurants to its heirloom gardens to its honey house.
 
One of the most recognized and respected food writers today, MOLLY O'NEILL, long the food columnist for the New York Times, is the author of three cookbooks, including the best-selling New York Cookbook, A Well-Seasoned Appetite, and The Pleasure of Your Company, as well as a memoir, Mostly True: Food, Family and Baseball. She hosted the PBS series Great Food and is the editor of the critically-acclaimed "American Food Writing." Twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, she has won the Julia Child/IACP Award for cookbooks and was awarded three James Beard citations for books, journalism and television as well as the society's Lifetime Achievement Award.