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In a sentence I would describe myself as: Chef Frank Magaña, a passionate young man with a talent to tantalize and a spirit to dream; a culinarian that has no limits to create the perfect pairing with the fruit of his neighbors and a glass from a winemaker down the street.

At an early age the talent to cook came very easily to me – I was simply working a side job while attending the local community college. If you ask my mom, she would say it was her who taught me everything she knows but – although she was a wonderful cook – the truth is that I met excellent chefs that saw the potential to mold this ever-eager young man who had a thirst for knowledge, culinary knowledge. After just 5 years working under passionate artistic chefs, I had worked my way to a Sous Chef position at small fine dining restaurant. By then I had quit college and was focused on a culinary career, mainly due to my folks sitting me down and giving me a swift kick in the pants.

The thought of money, women and chef stardom was said to have been my driving force. But it was really the idea of how much I could learn every day and the knowledge that I'd just begun to tap into this spicy, herby, artistic, fusion-driven world that kept me interested. Besides, who wants to date a young man who parties too much, has a stench of seafood, garlic and onions, and works late every Friday and Saturday nigh – not to mention double shfits every holiday?

So, during my first chef position it had only taken this thirsty-for-knowledge, driven young chef three short months to go from an occasional wine drinker to a "how did they get this in my wine glass" novice wine connoisseur. Almost nightly, I was spending my free evenings purchasing allocated bottles (bottles the front-house staff wasn't allowed to buy) to share with the service staff, just to learn a little more. It was the first winemaker's dinner that I helped prepare – an incredible dinner of seared Ahi, lobster, truffles, fillet of beef tenderloin and chocolate paired with Washington Wine – that got me hooked and I never looked back. That dinner was with Leonetti Cellars.

Talented chefs and general managers weren't the only ones to see my energy, drive and thirst for excellence.  A young server who worked with me had caught my eye – Miss Tricia Lynn. She is my never stopping inspiration, partner in the dream and what drives me to my happiness.

As a young chef, I worked my way up the culinary ladder and hopped from restaurant to restaurant up and down the Puget Sound. I thought that I may be missing a little something by not attending a structured culinary program and so I enrolled at SSCC. It took just six months in the program for me to realize that – while it's an excellent program – it wasn't for me. I finished out the quarter and moved on.

Right about then I was offered and secured an executive chef position for a small catering company; the same year I married Tricia, bought a house and later that year started our family with the addition of Frankie Jr. (busy, busy year). About 4 years later, the catering company was growing by leaps and bounds, climbing to the top level catering company and reigning over the competition for many years to follow.

It was in this executive chef position where I met the winemakers who invited me to the Yakima Valley. While on a weekend getaway to the Prosser & Red Mountain area wineries to visit with these winemaking friends, the talk of dinner inevitably had come up. The thought ending a dayy of wine tasting, barrel samples and vineyard tours with the perfect "Wine Country" dinner brought our conversation to a standstill. There wasn't such a restaurant. So I hit the market, then the kitchen and prepared the perfect little dinner and as the night continued with friends, wine and more wine... the idea for me – Chef Magaña – to open his own restaurant was hatched.