crista luedtke. chef. hotelier. restauranteur. visionary. tv personality.
crista is the chef/owner of boon eat + drink and Road Trip Kitchen and is the proprietor/visionary of boon hotel + spa and highlands resort.
she has been featured in Forbes, Food & Wine magazine, Condé Nast Traveler, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, and Sunset magazine among others.
she was crowned as the first ever Triple G Grand Champion in December 2015 and Champion of DDD GGG Super Teams in January 2020 on Food Network’s Guy’s Grocery
Games and is often seen as one of their regular culinary judges. Crista loves culinary competition and has many wins under her belt but is always seeking more, so stay tuned.
crista is passionate about traveling and seeks out culinary gems and new flavors wherever she goes. she’s translated this love into two different food and travel concept shows,
the newest called “Taste Buds” and the original called Lost in Taste, both airing on ReachTV. She her personal story was also featured in a documentary film called
Empire on Main Street, which won many awards in the film festival circuit, including ‘Best Documentary Short’ at the Emerging Filmmaker Showcase
at the American Pavilion in Cannes, France.
from humble beginnings to serial entreprenuer
she learned the art of cooking through her incredibly talented mother, and her skills in restaurant/hospitality management in her more formative years.
she grew up in both the front and back of the house in family restaurants doing everything from waiting tables to cooking on the line.
she’s passionate about seasonal ingredients and uses her gardens at boon to help inspire the menu.
crista has been the force behind the design and branding of all her concepts to date and has begun consulting for other cafes/restaurants and winery tasting rooms in the
San Francisco and North Bay areas. people refer to her as a ball of energy filled with creative vision. She never stops!
nothing makes her happier than connecting with people through food, wine and creating lasting experiences.
following her passion
crista was born into the restaurant business but didn’t follow her calling right away. She eventually left behind a corporate job in San Francisco to pursue an opportunity to
revive the sleepy vacation-town of Guerneville, two hours north of the city.
her endeavors began in April 2008 when she took ownership + renovated a struggling resort and opened a 14-room boutique hotel with a zen-like spa, known as boon hotel + spa.
the continued urge to open a restaurant, lead her to follow her passion of cooking, and tap into her culinary roots. She established boon eat + drink in 2009.
To expand her empire crista was a founding partner in a gourmet deli + general store concept, [big bottom market] in downtown Guerneville in July 2011 which has garnered much press including
‘2016 Oprah’s Favorite Things’ for the biscuit mix. although she sold her share of her partnership in January of 2018, she still remains a fan.
crista was a founding partner in a modern Mexican craft cocktail lounge, called El Barrio, in 2014. featuring bourbons, tequilas + mezcals and modern takes on Mexican food. she sold the business to her buddy in 2021.
In May of 2019 she opened Brot-a contemporary German wursthaus + bierhalle. BROT celebrated her heritage, as well as honored her parents who owned
a German restaurant in Wisconsin, ‘Luedtke’s Bratskeller’, when she was a child.
our other endeavors
