Williams-Sonoma Celebrates Chuck Williams 100th Birthday

Williams-Sonoma is celebrating the 100^th birthday of its founder, Chuck Williams, with the unveiling of a limited edition Chuck Williams “Signature Collection” of his favorite products along with a new cookbook, “Cooking at Home,” that celebrates his legacy with more than 1,000 recipes from an award-winning cookbook library.

The ‘Signature Collection’ Williams-Sonoma has introduced is an exclusive collection of products featuring an array of kitchen classics bearing his signature including a Le Creuset Dutch Oven in Sonoma Green, Nielsen-Massey Limited Edition Vanilla Extract, a maple rolling pin, a pepper mill, a silicone spatula decorated with a pineapple, a lemon reamer, a Mauviel Hammered Aluminum Braiser and Cabbage Leaf Dinnerware from Portugal in addition to Cooking at Home.

In honor of Williams’ contribution to cooking in America and his continuing legacy, last year the City of Sonoma proclaimed October 2, the birthday of the brand’s founder, as “Chuck Williams Day.” Williams-Sonoma will host its second annual pancake breakfast for the local community at Sonoma Plaza on Saturday, October 3, at 8 a.m.

“Chuck’s dedication to quality and customer service still guide our everyday decisions. He set standards that distinguish Williams-Sonoma in our industry today,” said Janet Hayes, president of Williams-Sonoma.

A “Birthday Wishes” social media campaign called #Chucks100th launched on Monday, September 28, calling for fans to post photos or videos to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram wishing Chuck a happy birthday. All posts should be tagged with #Chucks100th and @williamssonoma on Instagram and Twitter and @williams-sonoma on Facebook.

The Williams-Sonoma brand dates back to 1956, when founder Chuck Williams opened his original store in the Northern California wine country town of Sonoma. His passion for travel and food brought him to Paris, where his love for French cookware began. He brought his discoveries back to America and gained the patronage of home cooks and professional chefs alike.