Chef Ikeena Reed of Keena’s Kitchen Catering and Events
Ikeena Reed is the Owner & Head Chef for Keena’s Kitchen Catering & Event Services in Oakland, California. The creator of Keena’s California Soul CuisineTM, Ikeena has been setting the trend of serving sustainable, organic Soul Food dishes that appeal to both savory and dessert enthusiasts for over 10 years. Ikeena believes that with gentle, gradual changes to ingredients in traditional Soul Food recipes and a heart-centered, non-judgmental approach to coaching, clients can learn to feed their...
Read MoreChef Selome Haileleoul of TAYITU
Born and raised in Ethiopia, Selome’s style of cooking comes from her mother’s teaching as a youth in Addis Abeba, capital city of Ethiopia .Frequent large family gatherings hosted by her family exposed her to the world of Ethiopian cuisine something she developed a passion for. Four years ago she began teaching authentic Ethiopian cooking because of the large number of people who showed interest in wanting to know how to prepare the variety of vegan to meat dishes. She describes her teaching process as...
Read MoreChef John Farais of Indigenous Edibles
John Farais, a Marin County chef, lecturer, and cooking instructor, is one of the few, if not the only, Bay Area chefs who specialize in the history, taste, and promotion of The Americas’ indigenous edible plants. He uses ingredients that are native to The Americas, North through South America. Although his cooking incorporates American Indian techniques, it is not necessarily American Indian cuisine, nor is he Native American. He taught himself natural history of CA Indians, ethno-botany, and native...
Read MoreChef Richard Dawkins of RMD Catering
Chef Richard Dawkins Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York of Jamaican and Panamanian parents, Chef Richard has always had a love of cooking. Starting off in a small commissary kitchen, he worked his way up until his boss pushed him to further his culinary education in school. Working his way through college, Chef Richie took a year to train in Germany at Hotel Chiemgauhof, returned to NYC to work at Windows on the World, and by graduation he was working at the Sea Grill at Rockefeller Center. He trained in...
Read MoreChefs Nathan Britton and J. B. O’Brien with Miguel Mendoza of Fortnight
Nathan Britton and J. B. O’Brien graduate from culinary school on October 5th. Less than a month later they will be running their own restaurant. Their pop-up concept, Fortnight, will run from October 23rd to November 3rd at The Guest Chef in Oakland. For the two soon-to-be-graduates of the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena getting to run their own restaurant is a unique opportunity to put into practice what they have learned over the last 20 months, not only in the classroom...
Read MoreChef Ronny D. Miranda
Chef Ronny D. Miranda Born and raised in Oakland Bay Area, I’m a third generation Azorean American. My family came over from the Azores in the 30’s. All of my family can cook; it was just part of the culture and still is in my family. I was a dish washer at a family owned ice creamery for my first job. It was a very humbling experience. Its harder than you think to get ice cream and hot fudge off plates when there are 600 of them. Someone asked me “If I wasn’t a chef what would I...
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