Zac Yoder

Where They Are Now

Zac Yoder’s path to the garden began with study at UC Berkeley, where he trained with an eye toward the quiet disciplines that would come to define his work: reading the land, honoring seasonality, and understanding how produce shapes a kitchen’s rhythm from the ground up. That foundation still underpins everything he does now, in a role that asks for both patience and exactness, and for a sensitivity to the daily pulse of growing things. Today, Yoder serves as Farm Director of The Charter Oak in St. Helena, California, a position that places him at the center of the restaurant’s agricultural heartbeat. It is the work that lives beyond the obvious romance of the garden. There are beds to tend, timing to watch, and subtle shifts in weather and plant life to interpret, all of it unfolding in real time and all of it feeding directly into the experience of the table. In that sense, his work is less about a single harvest than about maintaining a continuous conversation between soil and service. Since 2014, he has also managed the garden needs of The Restaurant at Meadowood, adding another layer of responsibility to a career already rooted in precision. Fine dining, such work often remains just out of sight, yet it is essential to the character and cadence of the restaurants it supports. What makes Yoder’s role distinctive is the way it draws together cultivation and collaboration. Farm work at this level is not simply agricultural; it is editorial in its own way, shaping what is possible, what is fresh, and what arrives with the clearest expression of place. Under his direction, the garden becomes not a backdrop but a living source, one that requires responsiveness, discipline, and an understanding of how a single ingredient can carry the story of a season. At both The Charter Oak and The Restaurant at Meadowood, Yoder’s work speaks to a broader ethic of care: for the land, for the produce, and for the exacting standards of kitchens that depend on both. His career, grounded at UC Berkeley and carried forward through years of practical stewardship, reflects the rare blend of agricultural knowledge and operational finesse that gives a restaurant garden its value. In his hands, the garden is not just managed; it is made to sing quietly, consistently, and in season.

Career - Farm Director, The Charter Oak - manages garden needs, The Restaurant at Meadowood (2014–present) Education: UC Berkeley

FAQ What is Zac Yoder's current role? Zac Yoder is Farm Director. Where did Zac Yoder train or study? Zac Yoder trained at UC Berkeley.