Katina and Kyle Connaughton

Kyle and Katina Connaughton are the couple behind SingleThread, a source-focused, farm-driven restaurant and inn concept that offers time-honored preparations of seasonally inspired cuisine and a uniquely curated taste of Sonoma Wine Country. Husband and wife are co-owners of this restaurant in Healdsburg (California), awarded with three Michelin stars in 2018, where Kyle is in charge of the kitchen and Katina leads the farm where most of their produce is grown. Kyle began his culinary career in Los Angeles with an apprenticeship at one of the oldest Japanese restaurants in the city and continued training in both pastry and savory at other famous restaurants. This was followed by several years cooking in Japan for the chef Michel Bras and in numerous traditional Japanese cuisine restaurants. In 2006, Kyle joined Heston Blumenthal to become the Head Chef of Research and Development for the Fat Duck Experimental Kitchen. He is a co-developer of the Culinary Science Bachelors Degree program for the CIA, and co-author of the book Donabe – Classic and Modern Japanese Clay Pot Cooking.

Katina heads the five acre farm property, greenhouses, heirloom orchards, bee hives, and livestock as well as the foraging program and floral department. She began her first foray into farming while living in a rural agricultural community in Hokkaido, Japan. She continued culinary gardening on a Victorian estate property in England before moving to Sonoma to complete her coursework in Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture. Katina was greenhouse manager for the Ag Program of Santa Rosa Junior College and has farmed at Davis Family Winery and The Barlow. Kyle and Katina also founded in 2014 the culinary development firm Pilot R+D.