SingleThread Chef Kyle Connaughton: From Farm-to-table to Half-pipe

Kyle Connaughton landed kickflips and ollies before he landed three Michelin stars as a world-renowned chef and co-owner of Healdsburg’s farm-to-table phenomenon SingleThread. Connaughton says skate culture is what led him into the culinary world. “Cooking in kitchens is a lot like skateboarding in that it’s creative and you can develop your own style,” he says. “There’s a rush of working in a kitchen that attracts people who skateboard.”

Connaughton and his wife, Katina, who runs SingleThread’s farm, share a lifelong passion for skateboarding and in August 2021 became members on the Board of Advocates for The Skatepark Project, a nonprofit established by legendary skateboarding icon Tony Hawk. The Skatepark Project issues grants to low-income communities to build quality public skateparks and provides guidance to city officials, parents and children through the process. Since 2002, the foundation has awarded more than $10 million to nearly 700 public skate park projects in all 50 states, servicing an estimated 6 million people annually. Internationally, the organization raised $150,000 to support the Skateistan program in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa.

The Skatepark Project is an effort the Connaughtons became involved with through close friend Tony Hawk. “Tony is a big supporter of SingleThread,” says Connaughton. “Tony and I talk a lot about kids in communities needing a place to go where they don’t feel like criminals when they skate.” Connaughton views the Skatepark Project as an opportunity to counteract the negative stereotypes young people face as skateboarders. “When everyone treats you like a criminal as a kid for skating, you develop that mentality,” he says. “As I got older, I became aware of that.”

The contempt towards skaters congregating in public spaces is something Connaughton is familiar with growing up in a suburb outside of Los Angeles in the ‘80s. “My wife and I are from a town called Upland, and it had one of the very few skate parks that existed at that time called ‘Pipeline’, but due to liability issues the park shut down,” he says.

‘Pipeline’ initially closed in 1988, and it wasn’t until 2018 that the city reopened the park to the public. The 30-year gap is indicative of the obstacles faced by communities with a desire for a public skate park. Connaughton admits that there are “a lot of bigger fish to fry when it comes to world problems and local philanthropic work,” but providing youth with a safe space to skate is near and dear to him and his wife’s hearts. “We can see the result right away. With the building of the park and watching kids enjoy it,” says Connaughton. “In the culinary world, we love instant gratification. It’s like cooking for someone and watching them enjoy the dish right there.”

Connaughton is considering the possibility of landscaping certain skate parks with edible gardens as a way to engage young people with agriculture and nutrition. The idea is meant to provide access to quality food for inner-city youth who may live in food deserts with minimal access to healthy and organic produce. “If we want to expand sustainable agriculture, we need young people to be passionate about it,” he says. “For kids who are into skating, maybe they don’t identify with chefs and see it as a fancy thing. But if they see someone like myself, they can look at what I do and see a culinary career as a possible opportunity. Learning cooking skills is like skating and learning how to ollie or drop in on a ramp. You first need to learn the basics of service.”

The Carson Warner Memorial Skate Park in Healdsburg is Connaughton’s favorite local skate park, which he says is “well-built and maintained.” Connaughton joined Tony Hawk and his team during the recent holiday season as they skated at the Healdsburg Skate Park and dined at SingleThread. Connaughton feels that overall, the North Bay boasts an impressive network of public skate park options.

To raise funds for The Skatepark Project, SingleThread will be auctioning off a unique experience of a 10-course tasting menu plus wine pairings for up to four guests, and a private tour of SingleThread’s farm. The package has an estimated fair market value of more than $3,000.

The auction will be held from Feb. 15-22, and bids can be placed at the following link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134025837893

 

Lead photo by Eric Wolfinger