Using only the finest ingredients, Market's recipe is no secret – Doug, Nick and Bobby.

Having spent a career honing his talents in the world of fine dining, Douglas Keane is set to bring his passionate attention to detail to a more casual environment. As Chef and Principal of Market in St. Helena, Keane is loosening his collar while keeping his edge—preparing fresh American classics in a friendly neighborhood restaurant.

A Michigan native, Keane studied at the Cornell Hotel School during which time he moved for a short stint to San Francisco to apprentice at The Ritz-Carlton. After graduating with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, Keane moved to New York to work at the standard-setting Four Seasons restaurant, where he worked his way up to Assistant Sous-Chef. He next spent two years at Lespinasse with Chef Gray Kunz before returning to San Francisco to serve as opening sous-chef of Restaurant Gary Danko, where he forged a friendship with his Market partner, Nick Peyton. Keane, most recently applauded as Executive Chef of the award-winning restaurant, Jardiniere, was chosen in 2002 as a San Francisco Chronicle "Rising Star Chef."

With over twelve years in the restaurant industry, Keane has carved out a solid reputation of having skill, flair, and integrity. And while dinner checks at Market will be well below those found at fine-dining restaurants, Keane realizes that the expectations of his guests will remain just as high. "Market will offer all the comforts of home, prepared at all the levels of fine dining," says Keane. "Simply put, we want to feature delicious food that also sounds appealing, and is made with the freshest ingredients we can find...food that people want to eat everyday."

In addition to his extensive success in the kitchen, Keane's side projects have included assisting Jacques Pepin on his "Cooking with Claudine, Encore" television series, and consultations with Denver, Colorado's Darlep Restaurants, assisting with two successful bar-restaurants. He has also worked with Pastry Chef Jacques Torres at Le Cirque 2000, and consulted for the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco.

Few names conjure images of topflight restaurant service like Nick Peyton. Since the late 1960s, Peyton has been on a path toward perfecting the art of hospitality—no small feat in a world of increasing customer neglect. His latest role as Front of House Manager and Principal at Market in St. Helena marks the culmination of wisdom garnered over more than three decades.

The path started for Peyton in the late 1960's, working at a young age in nightclubs, bars and cafes. By the 1970's he was honing his skills as a server in high-end dining rooms in the Bay Area, and by the 1980's he held positions as maitre d' and manager at some of San Francisco's finest dining establishments. His expertise in the subtle art of service became known throughout the city as he helped elevate the Fairmont Hotel's Squire Restaurant, where he worked until 1988, into the ranks of the "10 Best Restaurants in the World" (Lifestyle's of the Rich and Famous).

Peyton, who received his degree in restaurant management from San Francisco's City College, next moved to Masa's and essentially set the standard for fine dining in the city while he was, until 1991, the general manager and maitre d'. Under his tenure, Masa's earned numerous accolades, including several nods as "Best Restaurant Bay Area" from San Francisco Magazine.

But he was not willing to rest, and from 1991 to 1997, as manager and maitre d' of the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton in San Francisco, he took service levels to previously unheard of heights. With an uncanny ability for training his staff to be attentive without being intrusive, Peyton and Chef de Cuisine, Gary Danko, made the Dining Room one of the nation's greatest restaurants, earning both critical and popular praise.

He next worked briefly at the award-winning Farallon in San Francisco before opening Gary Danko restaurant in 1999 with his Dining Room cohort. The establishment was an instant success, due, in no small part, to Peyton's attention to detail. Among the many honors the venture received were "Best New Restaurant" recognitions by both Esquire and the James Beard Foundation.

Peyton's skill at guest service has been augmented over the years by his command of artisanal cheese, a subject about which he has offered his insight for several books and articles. In addition to his many staff positions, Peyton has served as a consultant, lending his considerable expertise to several notable restaurants. He helped refine the front-of-house techniques at Laurent Gras' Fifth Floor and Ron Siegel's revamped Masa's in San Francisco. He also worked with Gunter Seegers to perfect the Mobil Five-Star Restaurant, Seegers, in Atlanta. Peyton has also conducted service seminars for such enterprises as American Express, the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, San Francisco City College's Hotel and Restaurant Department, and Service Arts Corp.

Market represents a long-held desire for Peyton to run a restaurant that offers affordability and comfort without forsaking caring, intelligent, personalized service. "With the combined talents of all the staff, artists and friends who helped to put this project together, I feel we have the opportunity for a little rare restaurant magic," says Peyton humbly.

Among the many welcome surprises in store at Market is the presence of a world-class wine expert. Bobby Stuckey, whose reputation for intuitively-crafted wine lists precedes him, brings to the picture an ability to select perfect wines for Keane's simple American fare.

He sharpened this ability during a career that began under the tutelage of Tom Kaufman, owner of the renowned Rancho Pinot in Scottsdale, Arizona. A graduate of Northern Arizona University, Stuckey began pursuing his passion for food and wine early in his career. He worked in several top-rate establishments in his home state, and at each he increasingly focused on wine service.

He left Arizona in 1997 to take the Sommelier position at Aspen's renowned Restaurant at Little Nell. With hard work and precision, the restaurant soon earned Wine Spectator's prestigious Grand Award. Stuckey's reputation soared in Aspen as word spread and mentions mounted in the nation's top food and wine publications.

In 2000, he was tapped by Chef Thomas Keller to join the ranks at the world-class French Laundry in Yountville. He quickly drew attention, creating a list that balanced well with Keller's unrivaled cuisine. Within his first year at French Laundry he earned The James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Wine Service award. Among his many innovations was to augment the great labels of the Wine Country with several pages of Austrian and German wines. He takes a similar, value-oriented approach at Market. "We have to remember that the locals drink the Napa Valley wines all the time," he points out. "So we also want to show people what the rest of the world is up to."

Though Market is just up the highway from French Laundry, the restaurants are worlds apart. And Stuckey knows that while Market's guests come in with different tastes, they will still want to be impressed. His "great glass" program allows them to be adventurous. "I want to show people that the qualities and characteristics which make drinking a glass of great wine in Europe so appealing, can be done in America as well," he says.

Currently in the final stages of earning his coveted Master Sommelier title, Stuckey is a true student of wine, whose thoughtful insights into beverage service bear in mind what people like to drink. As he points out, "For the first time since Thomas Jefferson, we are living in an era when there are two generations of wine drinkers. So we have to be able to accommodate at least two different kinds of tastes side by side." Given its broad allure, that is certainly the case at Market.