Pastry Chef Gears Up for Valentine's Day in Wine Country

Food, wine, love.

What else is there?

People flock to Sonoma Valley for them.

"We get a lot of people driving through here and they like to pick up individual-size items to eat on the way to wine tasting," Glen Ellen Village Market pastry chef LeeAnn Genevé told Patch.

The market creates lots of sandwiches with specialty meats, vegetables and breads, ready to go.

"But tomorrow, it's going to be all about that little glass case," she said with a smile.

That little glass case holds the food of the gods—eclairs, fruit tarts, princess cake, buttercream layer cake ("with real buttercream), tulip mousse cups, cupcakes ("always a favorite) and chocolate silk tarts.

It's looking especially pink, red and chocolatey lately.

Genevé expects to be busy on Thursday, her first Valentine's Day at the Market. She has been there for 9 months, having been a chef at Ledson Winery and also for Charles Schwab and his investment adviser executives at his San Francisco office. She also made pastries at Jeremiah Tower's San Francisco restaurant Stars.

"It was the hip place for about 20 years," she said.

Why did she move to Sonoma Valley?

"Food and wine—they're two of my favorite subjects," she said.

So much so, that she caters private dinners for the Valley's wineries.

"I have an aphrodisiac menu of oysters on the shell, lobster with vanilla butter sauce, smoked duck, Dungennes crab, chocolate silk tarts and creme puffs filled with passionfruit sorbet," she said.

On Valentine's Day here, some people will be lucky enough to be seated at that table, and it could even be outdoors.

"The weather's been so nice lately," said Genevé.

Oh mon Dieu. Bon appétit.

Follow Sonoma Valley Patch on Facebook and Twitter.