The Joel Palmer House

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Christopher Czarnecki wasn’t born into fine dining—he was conscripted. At nine years old, he was handed a tray of water glasses at his parents’ restaurant—Joe’s Restaurant—in Reading, PA (now The Joel Palmer House)—and told to keep them full. That childhood was a cocktail of wild mushrooms, Pinot Noir, sauté pans hissing like angry snakes, and the low hum of diners in mid-ecstasy. He knew then that this was going to be his world. In 2003, Chris traded that world for Army boots and a mess hall in Iraq. Cooking in combat taught him discipline, patience, and the kind of precision you can measure in push-ups. His one act of culinary rebellion—slipping herbs and butter into a standard-issue dish—earned him 50 of them. No applause, just sweat. Lesson learned. By 2006, he was back in Dayton, Oregon, in the Joel Palmer House kitchen. A year later, he took the reins from his father, Jack. By 2008, the place was his—along with the legacy of turning wild mushrooms into symphonies and curating a wine list that reads like a love letter to Oregon’s soul. Foragers still show up at the back door with the day’s treasures; Mary, his wife, grows produce so local it barely travels twenty yards from soil to plate. The cellar is his shrine—over 600 Oregon Pinot Noirs and, since 2010, a Wine Spectator “Best of Award of Excellence” every year. In 2025, The Joel Palmer House joined the Château d’Yquem Lighthouse Program—one of a rare few restaurants worldwide entrusted to showcase the legendary French Sauternes. The same year, AAA crowned them with the Four Diamond Award, and Wine Industry Network named Chris one of “Wine’s Most Inspiring People” for elevating Oregon’s wine and culinary scene while still getting his boots dirty in the mushroom fields. Dayton isn’t Paris, but when you sit in Chris’s dining room with a plate of morel-laden risotto and a glass of something that smells like liquid history, it doesn’t need to be.

Levi has always had an affinity for the finer things in life, and becoming a chef to share his creativity has been his dream since childhood. After graduating high school, he pursued that dream by earning his degree in Fine Dining, Culinary Arts, and Management from the Oregon Culinary Institute. His culinary journey then took him to Shanghai, where he honed his craft and discovered his unique signature—specializing in French-Asian fusion and distinctive flavor profiles. Upon returning home, Levi launched his own private chef and consulting business and continues to serve on multiple executive boards for local childhood cancer organizations, using food and wine to advocate for awareness and fundraising. Levi’s passion for fine wine developed alongside his culinary training, deepening as he pursued advanced wine studies in culinary school. After several years working as a chef, he made the transition to the front of the house and accepted his first sommelier position. At just 21 years old, he joined the opening team of a $17-million restaurant, where he curated the bar and beverage program. Since then, Levi has rapidly advanced through the industry and now serves as our Director of Hospitality and Head Sommelier, leading the country’s largest Oregon Pinot Noir wine list. Throughout his career, Levi has seamlessly combined his expertise as both a chef and sommelier, achieving remarkable milestones. He was instrumental in securing the first-ever Pacific Northwest Château d’Yquem Lighthouse Partner designation, a prestigious partnership that recognizes exceptional wine programs. Under his leadership, the restaurant earned the coveted AAA Four Diamond Award and he has been featured in multiple nationwide publications, highlighting his commitment to excellence and innovation. Levi’s journey has been shaped by resilience. As a childhood leukemia survivor, he spent nearly all of his middle school and high school years in treatment, fighting through chemotherapy and inten