HE NEARLY MISSED HIS CALLING IN THE CULINARY WORLD.
After spending years as a Master Electrician and musician, Chris Barnum-Dann was traveling with his band and eating his way across the United States when he realized he was never going to be a rock star. He also got that the one thing he most loved about being on the road was finding and eating great food. He came to appreciate that this love was concealing an even greater passion—cooking.
Viewing a chance advertisement for culinary school, he enrolled immediately. Gifted with a discriminating palate and highly imaginative cooking style, he met with quick success and began exploring the possibilities his newfound profession had to offer. Now, with his wife Jessica, he owns and operates a Michelin-starred restaurant that has been awarded a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence. To learn more about his journey, keep reading below.
BACKGROUND
Chef Chris Barnum-Dann began his culinary career by visiting fifteen Michelin restaurants, all in a year’s time.
A revelatory dining experience at Akelaŕe in San Sebastián clarified everything. He left the restaurant feeling exhilarated. As he navigated the three-mile walk back to town in the dark, a lightning storm produced breathtaking views of the Bay of Biscay. With each footstep, Barnum-Dann became ever more certain that cooking was his life’s purpose and that owning a fine dining restaurant was his future.
His natural passion and enthusiasm for cooking gained him instant employment.
His first job, at Hapa Sushi in his hometown of Auburn, California began the same day he applied to culinary school. Next came Ten22 in Sacramento, where he talked his way into a job in the kitchen despite his lack of experience. He quickly became its Chef de Cuisine. Over the next few years, Barnum-Dann focused on honing both his culinary and business skills. He became the chef at some of the most successful restaurants in Placer County, California, including Cafe Zorro, Wise Villa Winery, Winchester Country Club in Meadow Vista, and Cibo 7 in Roseville.
In September 2016, Barnum-Dann realized his long-held dream to become, along with his wife Jessica, co-owner of Localis, a restaurant where he had begun as the Executive Chef.
Now known for its fine dining, and located in Sacramento’s Poverty Ridge district, Localis offers a setting with a welcoming sensibility and ease. Jessica Dann often greets guests, while Chris calls out from behind the chef’s counter, where a wood fired-oven enhances the flavors in many of the dishes he creates.
Diving into the Sacramento culinary scene, the Barnum-Dann’s have made Localis the restaurant where guests trust him to feed them well. They partner with the best farmers and growers, and search out the freshest ingredients at the height of their expression. He composes dishes of expertly prepared, artfully plated, beautiful food full of distinctive flavors. His passion for cooking is fully expressed in the daily tasting menu where he lets the wines he most wants to drink guide his combination of hyper-seasonal ingredients, creating sublime dishes that pair beautifully.
In its first three years, the Barnum-Dann’s flagship restaurant, Localis, rose to the top of California’s dining scene.
In 2018, Eater named Localis one of California’s 38 best places to eat.
In 2019, Wine Spectator revealed Localis as a winner of its Award of Excellence. This was the same year Localis became a Michelin-listed restaurant, having been awarded “The Plate” designation
In 2o2o, Localis was granted Wine Spectator’s second-tier Best of Award of Excellence for his chef-driven wine list.
Next came the biggest challenge: steering Localis through the pandemic.
While other restaurants shut down, Barnum-Dann kept Localis open, although there was no dining room service.
Instead, he offered guests to take home 7-course tasting meals, with wine pairings, as well as wines from Localis’ cellar and chef-created sauces to enhance meals made at home.
Barnum-Dann also used this time to implement green initiatives, develop a new cocktail program, and create a non-alcoholic beverage program of drinks made entirely in-house.
Before reopening the dining room in 2022, Barnum-Dann designed and completed an entire renovation of the restaurant’s interior.
On reopening, he introduced a tasting menu only.
The accolades just keep coming.
Barnum-Dann was named by the James Beard Foundation among its semi-finalists for 2022 Best of California Chef award.
Wine Enthusiast named his Localis restaurant to its 50 Best Restaurants in America 2022 list saying “When the chef is also the sommelier, you know that the pairings will be perfection.”
Michelin awarded Localis its first star in 2022…an honor that was retained again in 2023.
Throughout, Localis has continued to attain Wine Spectator’s second-tier Best of Award of Excellence, an acknowledgment few restaurants attain.
Im addition, Barnum-Dann has been appeared on national television including cooking on Live with Kelly and Ryan and becoming Winning Chef, Season 1 of Food Network’s “The Globe” cooking competition.
Their hearts may live in the Auburn foothills, and the Barnum-Dann’s have fully embraced their restaurant’s Sacramento identity.
As a Sacramento community supporter, Chris, Jessica and the restaurant participate in numerous events throughout the year benefitting local Sacramento causes and charities. It’s no surprise that, as parents of three children, their philanthropy focuses on supporting non-profit organizations that help children. Among his many contributions, Chris shaves off his trademark head of hair as part of a St. Baldrick’s Foundation annual event to raise funds for childhood cancer research.
Next Barnum-Dann will make his mark in his hometown.
An ardent supporter of restaurants in the Auburn foothills where he lives with his family, Barnum-Dann supports and encourages other restaurateurs in the region, and consults on menu development and back of house operations. Most recently, Barnum-Dann announced he will be operating a bistro and artisan creamery in Downtown Auburn scheduled to open in late 2022/23.