the planner

Jamie

After receiving a Diploma in Culinary Arts from the French Culinary Institute in NYC in 2005, Jamie cooked in a variety of restaurants in New York City and staged at Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, her love of Big Sur brought her to work as head pastry chef for 5 years at Sierra Mar at the Post Ranch Inn.
 
She discovered her love for catering when she began working with a local band promoter, FolkYEAH! Events back in 2007. Cooking custom meals for the musicians backstage and on tour, She then started catering and planning the weddings for some of those same musicians she had met while with Folkyeah! Events.

With a focus on the event planning and execution of the front of house. She also creates the sweets such as desserts and cakes, and is a collaborator with Chef Paul on all the menus. She ensures client satisfaction and communication leading up to and during the events. 

A Big Sur local for 13 years, Jamie is a mother of 3 and now lives in Monterey.

"Jamie was everything I was looking for in a wedding planner, coordinator, caterer, cake-maker, rental company, stylist, and -- at times -- bridal therapist. :)
Every time I told friends that I had one person who was doing all of the above, their jaw would drop.

I found Jamie through the house we wanted to have our wedding in Big Sur, but her website and aesthetic really spoke to the feeling I wanted our wedding to have and I'm SO GLAD I went with her. We were not disappointed."

~Liza

The
chef

Paul

Before moving to Big Sur, he was Executive Chef of The National at The Benjamin Hotel in New York City where he worked as chef for the celebrated chef and restaurateur, Geoffrey Zakarian, who was an influential mentor.

Corsentino has proven he can handle the heat in the kitchen, having assisted Zakarian in winning the fourth season of FoodNetwork’s “The Next Iron Chef, Super Chefs” in 2011 and making multiple appearances alongside Zakarian on “Iron Chef America.”

Background ~ A graduate of the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, he began his culinary career in 2002 at the nationally acclaimed MK in Chicago where he was Chef de Partie at this New American restaurant. He then headed east, serving as Chef Tournant at Bouley in New York City where he worked closely with Cesar Ramirez, an innovative chef whose use of French techniques helped Corsentino cultivate and refine what would become his own trademark style. Subsequent positions included Executive Sous Chef at Rouge Tomate on the Upper East Side where Corsentino created truly seasonal fare with locally sourced products and then Chef de Cuisine at Dumont in Brooklyn’s vibrant Williamsburg neighborhood where he created elevated American-style comfort food.

Chef Corsentino works closely with local foragers, fisherman and farms to infuse authentic ingredients from the surrounding coastal landscape into his seasonally changing menus. Most recently, Chef Corsentino was the Executive Chef at The Sur House Restaurant at Ventana Big Sur for 5 years, where he found a passion for local ingredients from Big Sur and the Monterey Bay as well as the Central Coast.

"Chef Paul's food was spectacular, and our guests are still raving about it!! Every dish was delicious, from the lamb pops and crab cakes to the fried artichokes and the black cod, squash, and steak main courses. Everything was so so good, and my husband and I wish Chef Paul had a restaurant so we could go eat his food again and again."

~Alexandra D.

The
Sommelier/
officiant/planner

Alicia

Alicia comes to us from a background in hospitality and management. She is a licensed notary public, wedding officiant and sommelier. She was the manager of the iconic Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur for 20 years and a sommelier at Post Ranch Inn's Sierra Mar restaurant.

She has been working with Sea Stars since 2022, as a day of coordinator, lead server and sommelier.

Alicia is extremely well connected and much loved by the communities of Big Sur and Carmel. She is considered by many to be the "mayor" of Big Sur...if Big Sur had a mayor it would be her! 

She is great with all types of people, keeps an absolute calm when under pressure, is an amazing personality to be around, and truly excels at service and hospitality.  

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