Charles Saunders’s Focaccia

I met Charles Saunders when he was the executive chef at the Sonoma Mission Inn, a resort spa in Sonoma Country’s Valley of the Moon. My parents were staying at the Sonoma Mission Inn and invited Susan and me to meet them there for supper. They lived for part of the year in southern Florida and noticed that the new chef, Charles Saunders, had formally been chef at Maxaluna’s in Boca Raton, one of their favorite restaurants. It seemed only natural that my mother, who was a successful publicist in Philadelphia, asked Charles to come out so she could thank him for such a fine dinner and to compliment him on her previous meals at Maxaluna’s. He told us about the regional differences in food quality and style and the advantages of cooking in lush Sonoma County and was very appreciative of our appreciation. My mother then, as only a mother can do, asked Charles, “Why don’t you serve Brother Juniper’s bread here?” He had never heard of it. I began to turn red with embarrassment. My mother went to her room and brought him the loaf of Cajun Three-Pepper Bread I had brought her as a treat. She insisted he try it, which he graciously did. He liked it. Sonoma Mission Inn became one of our largest accounts. My mother, bless her heart, continued to seek out new accounts for us wherever she traveled.