We are so fortunate to work with such a diverse and talented group of teachers. They have years of experience spanning different cuisines and techniques and they are ready to help you become a better home cook.

Meghna Agarwal

Through her company, Crimson Kitchen, Meghna teaches Indian cooking classes, caters parties, runs her private chef business, and occasionally feeds the hungry souls of San Francisco’s numerous ... READ MORE

Kausar Ahmed

Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Kausar Ahmed is a writer, food stylist and chef with over 20 years of experience in culinary arts. She has been a culinary instructor and cooking show producer and host in ... READ MORE

Jackie Apple

As a youngster, Jackie Apple loved hanging out in the family kitchen, sitting on the counter while watching her mother prepare classic Argentine food. Throughout her youth, Jackie traveled often to ... READ MORE

Cathy Barrow

Cathy Barrow is a freelance food writer, cooking teacher, and food preservation expert. She writes the “BRING IT” column in the Washington Post’s food section. Her first cookbook, ... READ MORE

Marti Buckley

Marti Buckley is an American journalist and cook from Alabama who has lived in San Sebastián, Spain for seven years. Her blog is travelcookeat.com, where she writes about food and the Basque Country. ... READ MORE

Viola Buitoni

Viola Buitoni, a direct descendant of the famed pasta and chocolate family, hails from Perugia, in the heart of Umbria. She came to the US in 1985 for a business degree, but soon found herself drawn ... READ MORE

Jennifer Clair

Jennifer Clair is a culinary instructor and the founder of Home Cooking New York, a cooking school in New York City. She is a former Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living and the former ... READ MORE

Sasha Crehan

Sasha attended the Professional Pastry program at Tante Marie’s Cooking School. After years of working as a pastry chef at Bay Area restaurants and bakeries such as Bay Wolf, Garibaldi’s, Café ... READ MORE

Amanda Cushman

Amanda Cushman is a culinary educator, cookbook author and recipe developer who has cooked professionally for over thirty years. She has taught students in their homes, as well as at Sur La Table, The ... READ MORE

Deirdre Davis

Deirdre Davis has worked as a culinary instructor and pastry chef for over 20 years in the Bay Area. Originally from the east coast, she moved to California to attend the California Culinary Academy. ... READ MORE

Karen Diggs

Karen is a classically-trained chef, certified nutritionist, culinary instructor, and author of Happy Foods: Over 100 Mood-Boosting Recipes. She studied at the California Culinary Academy ... READ MORE

Greg Dunmore

Greg is an accomplished San Francisco chef with more than twenty years of experience. Throughout his career he has run critically acclaimed restaurants and earned Michelin Stars. Greg’s passion for ... READ MORE

Linda Tay Esposito

Linda Tay Esposito is a teaching chef whose food represents a tribute and commitment to the authenticity of the cuisines of the Pacific Rim. For the last 15 years, Linda has shared her passion and ... READ MORE

Janet Fletcher

Agustín Gaytán

Agustín Gaytán is a chef, teacher, consultant and culinary researcher. Born in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, in central Mexico, he learned to cook at an early age in his mother's kitchen, and ... READ MORE

Marlene Sorosky Gray

Chef Marlene Sorosky Gray loves to teach cooking and she’s been doing it successfully for over 40 years. She has taught in 46 of the 50 states and for many years owned a cooking school and cookware ... READ MORE

Michael Harlan Turkell

Michael Harlan Turkell is an award-winning food photographer and cookbook author of ACID TRIP: Travels in the World of Vinegar. He has photographed and co-authored many prominent chefs’ ... READ MORE

Tom Herndon

Chef Tom has been a resident chef, personal chef, cooking instructor, and culinary tour director. As a member of the American Personal and Private Chefs Association, Chef Tom started Full Fridge, a ... READ MORE

Dianne Jacob

Dianne Jacob is the author of the multiple award-winning book, Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Memoir, Recipes and More. She also co-wrote two cookbooks ... READ MORE

Camila Loew

Camila Loew is the founder of Sobremesa and Sobremesa Culinary Tours. After receiving her Ph.D. in Humanities and an academic career, she shifted her focus to food, specializing in health-supportive ... READ MORE

James Lum III

James is a butcher, an entrepreneur, and an impassioned advocate for sustainable agriculture. Formerly at Brooklyn’s The Meat Hook, James founded his own whole-animal butchery in Charlottesville, ... READ MORE

Michelle McKenzie

Michelle McKenzie was the longtime Program Director and Chef at 18 Reasons, a community cooking school in San Francisco. She is the author of Dandelion & Quince: Exploring the Wide World of ... READ MORE

Jen Nurse

As The Civic Kitchen’s co-founder and lead instructor, Chef Jen Nurse's passion is teaching home cooks the skills they need to gain confidence in their own kitchens. She relishes seeing the ... READ MORE

Nissa Pierson

Nissa Pierson is a noted herb expert and founder of Ger-Nis Culinary & Herb Center. A cooking instructor, food ... READ MORE

Jill Silverman Hough

Jill Silverman Hough is a cookbook author, food and wine writer, recipe developer, cooking teacher, and food photographer. She’s been published in magazines including Bon Appétit, Cooking ... READ MORE

Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Nancy Singleton Hachisu is a native Californian, Stanford graduate who moved to Japan in 1988. She lives with her Japanese farmer husband in an 85-year-old traditional farmhouse in rural Saitama. They ... READ MORE

Annette Sorensen

Annette Sorensen grew up in a Danish household and treasures all things Danish. She loves the sense of community that can surround cooking and sharing a meal together. This led her to create the ... READ MORE

Cameron Stauch

Cameron Stauch is a chef currently based in Bangkok, Thailand. He has cooked and lived in Vietnam, India, and China (Hong Kong) and has travelled extensively in other parts of Asia. He is the author ... READ MORE

Janine Waite

About the Nester: Janine is the creative force behind Happy Happy Nester, a lifestyle blog with a touch of entertaining for friends and family. Janine loves everything related to the home ... READ MORE

Lindsay West

Lindsay West is a professionally trained chef with over 15 years of San Francisco Bay Area restaurant experience. After getting her degree from Cal Poly in Nutritional Science she moved up to San ... READ MORE

Frances Wilson

Chef Frances Wilson can’t remember a time when her life has not revolved around food, from an early age cooking with her mother and then professionally as a chef and teacher. There are some that ... READ MORE

Lorraine Witte

Lorraine “The Chinese Lady” Witte was born in Hawaii to Chinese immigrants and first became aware of her multicultural heritage through food. Her father showed her how to cook with his hands over ... READ MORE

Our Teachers