The Wandering Goose Guest Chef Series: Mia Ponzi Hamacher of Sosta House
The second dinner in the Guest Chef Series at the Tokeland Hotel and I was there, camera in one hand, probably a glass of wine in the other, feeling like I was showing up to hang out with friends who also happen to be feeding me really well. That's what an ongoing partnership looks like, by the way, but we'll get to that.
On Sunday, May 17, the Wandering Goose welcomed Mia Ponzi Hamacher of Sosta House for an intimate one-night pop-up dinner. Mia cooks seasonally informed food rooted in French technique and Italian tradition, which sounds fancy on paper but translates to food that feels generous and unfussy and genuinely delicious. She trained in New York City under some serious names, Daniel Boulud, Daniela Soto-Innes, Ignacio Mattos, with time at Forsythia which holds a spot in the Michelin Guide. She knows exactly what she's doing.
She's also the chef and innkeeper behind Sosta House, a bed and breakfast on the grounds of the historic Ponzi Winery estate in Oregon's Willamette Valley, where her family has been making wine for three generations. So when she showed up on the Washington coast with a menu inspired by mid-spring, featuring regional seafood, local farms, and wild Pacific Northwest ingredients, she brought that whole world with her. It was a really special evening.
The Tokeland Hotel also did a full interview with Mia about her grandmother's kitchen, cooking with seasonal honesty, and what keeps drawing her back to Tokeland. It's a genuinely lovely read and I'd recommend it if you want to know more about her before you inevitably look up Sosta House and start planning a Willamette Valley trip. Link is on their website.
Okay, now let me talk about something that means a lot to me, which is why I keep showing up to the Tokeland Hotel specifically and not just for the steak frites.
Everyone there knows my name. I know all of their names. When I walk in for an event I'm not just some vendor showing up with a camera bag, I'm Chelsea, who's here again, and also working for this business. That's what happens when you build an ongoing partnership with a hospitality brand instead of just booking a one-off shoot and moving on.
And here's why that actually matters for your business.
A single shoot gives you a great gallery from one day. An ongoing partnership gives you a living, breathing visual presence that reflects your space across seasons, menus, events, and experiences. Your website stays current. Your social media has something real to post that isn't an AI generated flyer announcing Tuesday specials. Your potential guests can actually see what it feels like to be there before they book, which is the whole thing. People don't just want to see a pretty room. They want to see themselves in it. They want to know what dinner looks like, what the vibe is on a Sunday night, whether this is their kind of place.
That's what consistent photography does. It builds trust with people who have never walked through your door yet.
One-off sessions are a great starting point, especially if you're working with a tighter budget or just need a refresh. But if you're a boutique hotel, a restaurant with rotating menus, or a venue that hosts events, seasonal or ongoing work is going to do so much more for you in the long run. You'll always have something current, something real, and someone who already knows your space and your people and can show up and get to work without a two hour warmup period.
I work with hospitality brands along the Washington and Oregon coast on everything from single foundation sessions to quarterly partnerships and ongoing content. If you're a restaurant, hotel, brewery, or event venue looking for a photographer who will actually get to know your business, not just your menu, I'd love to talk.
xoxo Chelsea
About Chelsea Moudry
Chelsea Moudry is a hospitality and destination photographer based in Raymond, WA and the owner of Chelsea Moudry Studio. She specializes in boutique hotels, restaurants, breweries, and event photography along the Washington and Oregon coast. She photographs the Tokeland Hotel on a regular basis and considers it one of her favorite places to work, which is easy when the food is that good.