I'm a San Francisco-based chef cooking the food I believe in — warm, luxurious, and filling, like your close friend just cooked you the best meal of your life.
I've always been interested in food and the joy it brings people. Food is more than a necessity — the smell of baking bread, the taste of fresh lettuce, the sound of grilling meat, the warmth of a hot soup. All of it opens up the senses in a way most things can't.
I grew up between two kitchens — the Mexican-American family table in Texas where I learned to cook for the people I loved, and the professional ones where I've spent the last fifteen years learning to cook for everyone else. I trained at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco, then spent five years at Acquerello, the Michelin-starred Italian fine dining institution. From there, six years at Alexander's Steakhouse took me from sous chef in San Francisco to executive sous and pastry chef at the Tokyo location, to interim executive chef in Pasadena, and finally to executive chef at ALX by Alexander's.
Most recently I led the openings of two Japanese-focused concepts inside MZ Dining Group — sous chef at the Michelin-starred Ittoryu Gozu, and chef de cuisine at Yokai Hi-Fi. I currently lead the kitchen as chef de cuisine for Bon Appétit Management Company in Menlo Park. My work sits where Japanese restraint meets Italian generosity — no regrets, no compromise, just flavor, passion, integrity, and love.