The Sea Ranch Lodge announces the appointment of Ryan Seal as Executive Chef, leading the culinary program across The Dining Room, The Bar & Lounge, and The Café. Chef Seal brings a thoughtful, ingredient-driven approach that celebrates the Northern California coast through seasonal cooking, close farmer and fisher relationships, and a light footprint on the land.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Chef Ryan to The Sea Ranch Lodge,” says Kristina Jetton, General Manager, The Sea Ranch Lodge. “His philosophy of sourcing locally and cooking with restraint reflects our broader ethos of living lightly on the land. Guests can expect beautifully simple, expressive dishes that let our coastal terroir shine.”
California-born and Culinary Institute of America-trained, Seal has spent much of his career in Napa Valley, where he served as winery chef at Round Pond Estate and Joseph Phelps Vineyards and held positions at Calistoga Ranch and Solage. He further honed his craft at Morimoto in Napa and the Michelin-starred SPQR in San Francisco, gaining a breadth of experience across both intimate winery kitchens and acclaimed fine-dining restaurants. Most recently, Seal spent the past two and a half years on the Mendocino Coast, where he established a culinary identity for the Greenwood Restaurant and Elk House at Sacred Rock Inn, creating a strong sense of place through food and community.
Seal’s cuisine reflects a New American and California Coastal style, rooted in simplicity, seasonality, and technique. Known for his house made pastas, he uses the vessel to showcase coastal ingredients and unexpected farm-driven flavors. Signature dishes such as coastal black cod and uni carbonara exemplify his approach of highlighting what is available locally while introducing a refined, contemporary sensibility. His focus extends beyond the obvious, incorporating biproducts of farm harvests to create one-of-a-kind flavors that speak directly to the Lodge’s story of sustainability and stewardship.
A key inspiration for Seal is The Sea Ranch Farm, where he looks forward to working closely with Farm Manager Katrina Coffman to source as much as possible directly from the Lodge’s land. Together, they plan to expand the relationship between the kitchen and the farm, experimenting with new crops and ingredients while ensuring that guests experience the full story of The Sea Ranch Lodge, from soil to sea to plate.
“I’m excited to join The Sea Ranch Lodge and continue its legacy of thoughtful hospitality,” says Ryan Seal, Executive Chef, The Sea Ranch Lodge. “Our new culinary program will be guided by the land and sea around us, rooted in simplicity and seasonality, but elevated with technique and creativity. Having access to The Sea Ranch Farm and collaborating with Katrina is an incredible privilege; it allows us to create something truly authentic and connected to this place.””
Looking ahead, Seal is eager to shape The Sea Ranch Lodge into a true culinary destination by aligning food, place, and experience. His vision is to make The Lodge’s dining program not only nourishing and memorable but also deeply connected to the land and community, an experience that can only be found at The Sea Ranch Lodge.
About The Sea Ranch Lodge
Set on 53 acres of spectacular Northern California coastline in Sonoma County, the iconic Sea Ranch Lodge was designed to respond to – and live in harmony with – the natural elements. The Sea Ranch Lodge encompasses The Dining Room, The Bar & Lounge, The Café, The General Store and Post Office all sustainably restored in 2021 by a collection of designers including architectural firm Mithun, landscape design studio TERREMOTO, and interior design firm The Office of Charles de Lisle as well as 17 reimagined guestrooms designed by NICOLEHOLLIS in 2023. The multi-year restoration breathes new energy into the property while preserving the vision of the original developer and group of architects including Al Boeke, Lawrence Halprin, and MLTW (Charles Moore, Donlyn Lyndon, William Turnbull, and Richard Whitaker). Located 100 miles north of San Francisco along Highway 1, The Sea Ranch Lodge exists within the greater Sea Ranch community. For more information, visit www.thesearanchlodge.com. Follow on Instagram and Facebook @thesearanchlodge.
