Meet the Chef

I grew up in Berkeley, CA in a household that celebrated food and gathering around a table to eat. My mother, Wendy, specialized in “throwing it all together, tossing some garbanzo beans in it and calling it dinner”; meals that were unreplicated and always delicious. Wendy balanced her throw-it-together healthy weeknight dinners with precisely crafted flakey and buttery pie doughs and fruit crisps.

My grandmother, Sylvia, had massive collections of cookbooks containing all the greats (David Tanis, Zuni Cafe, and of course Alice Waters). Sylvia taught me to make pasta and ice cream from scratch from a young age and was determined to expose our family to the finest restaurants the Bay Area has to offer: Chez Panisse, Greens, Yank Sing, Mustards Grill, Morimoto Napa, and so many more. I share this glimpse into my childhood so that you can truly understand that not liking food and cooking was not an option for me. I was raised to love every aspect of it! I tell you about my family, specifically the matriarchs of my family, because they shaped me into the woman, chef, and steward of the earth I am today.

As a young adult I launched myself into various opportunities in the food industry, including working as a barista and chef at The Picnic Basket in Santa Cruz. I quickly got used to a life of Dansko clogs, black shirts, and waking up for work before the sun had risen. During my summers I would trek up to the mountains where I fell in love with the fast paced, demanding, and ever satisfying work of being a Lead Cook in the Camp Tawonga kitchen. I not only grew as a chef producing meals for 500 people at a time, but I also grew my leadership skills in leading a team to execute meals. Working at Camp Tawonga gave me the confidence and skills to trust my instincts with new recipes and made me yearn to return summer after summer to train new “baby prep cooks.”

Once completing my Degree in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz, I knew that I was deeply invested in all aspects of the food industry, including growing organic and sustainable crops that not only nourish us as people but replenish the earth. I learned so much about the harmful monoculture and industrial agriculture systems that deplete our earth and cause harm to many migrant farm workers. How could I as a chef, farmer, daughter, and lover of nature support a system that has caused such harm?

After sharpening my skills as a cooking and garden educator at the Edible Schoolyard and working as a personal chef in Oakland, I hope you are ready to take this next step with me as I explore what it means to be a small business operator and owner. My food prioritizes seasonal and organic produce and my menus reflect the changing seasons as well as diverse flavor profiles that I have fallen in love with from growing up in the bay area and through my travels.