Daniel Sauer
7A Foods | Martha's Vineyard, MA
October 2019
For some islanders, the off-season on Martha’s Vineyard means taking a break. But for Dan Sauer, it means menu development, planning gardens, and searching for potential new products for his business, 7a Foods. 7a is a soul-and-belly satisfying sandwich shop, bakery, and fine-foods store, with a technical precision and polish that earned Sauer a 2014 StarChefs Rising Star Chef Award.
After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in 1999, Sauer cooked at Oceana in New York City under Chef Rick Moonen. He spent a summer in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard at La Cucina, where he met his wife and soon-to-be business partner, Wenonah. Sauer returned to New York to open Tom Collichio’s Craft and Hearth before moving his skills and polish to the calmer, wild-rose covered terrain of the Vineyard, where he became the chef at The Outermost Inn. With the mission to support the island’s food growers and provide expertly prepared sandwiches that are accessible to all, Sauer and his wife opened their own seasonal cafe, 7a Foods, in 2010. With his involvement with Island Grown Foods, the Wild Food Challenge, and his own 7a Suppers, Sauer is helping to improve his local food culture and evolve the role of the chef.
2019 StarChefs Chefs Congress Presenter
2014 StarChefs Coastal New England Rising Stars Award Winner
