Chef Luca Crestanelli was born and raised in Verona, Italy where he received his Gastronomy and Culinary Arts degree. In 2002, California became home. Chef Luca began working under the tutelage of renowned Chef Nicola Mastronardi at Vincenti in Brentwood, California. After three years, looking to expand his horizon, he accepted a position as a private chef where he traveled extensively, exposing himself to a variety of culinary cultures.
In 2010, Luca was invited by the Gordon family, owners of Brentwood’s famed Toscana, to become Executive Chef, and launch their new Bar Toscana, an impossibly chic bar located next door to their legendary trattoria.
Several years later Crestanelli learned about an old farmhouse/restaurant that had become available in downtown Santa Ynez. He had always envisioned himself creating a rustic restaurant, sourcing his products from local fisherman, ranchers, farmers and vintners, and infusing his Italian style with a rural sensibility. Chef Luca pitched the idea to Toscana owners Mike and Kathie Gordon. Already residents of Santa Ynez, they enthusiastically embraced the idea and partnered with him to create S.Y. Kitchen in 2013.
In the fall of 2020, Crestanelli and his team opened Nella Kitchen & Bar in the Fess Parker Wine Country Inn in Los Olivos. Again, the meticulously curated menu keeps true to his personal style of creating fresh, authentic local cuisine.