About Us

Chef Jesse Bloom of Sacred Kitchen has been cooking up goodness for over 20 years. His specialty is Global Soul Food Cuisine and bringing people together around the Universal Language of Food. He's excited to bring his brand of flavor, fun and connection to your living room during these most unusual times. Learn more about his work and company at www.sacredkitchensf.com.

A California native, Anne Apra comes from a long line of restaurateurs, caterers, and great cooks starting with her grandfather, Nonno, a festive cook in the Italian army. It is from these roots and the philosophy of “feed an army” that she began her culinary journey spanning the past 20+ years in the food service industry including special event & wedding planning, too.

www.anneapraevents.com

Jeff is a Los Angeles-based culinary professional. He developed a true appreciation for preparing fresh food in the kitchen as a teenager but has loved the art of cooking ever since he was a child.  He creates original handmade recipes for intimate gathers, home parties, weddings to large corporate events. He also teaches cooking classes at various locations throughout Southern California.

A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, he has worked in the restaurant industry most of his adult life. He was also recently seen on ABC’s hit show The Taste.

www.jeffkawakami.com

Mani Niall has been tinkering in the kitchen all his life.  While his recent test kitchen work assists food companies in creating and launching new products and taste sensations, his interest in the kitchen goes back to my family.  In his house, everyone cooked! In 1990 he launched a retail location in Los Angeles, Mänis’s Bakery, dedicated to creating alternative baked goods. He then sold his bakery and founded Mani's Test Kitchen in 1999. He used his skills from bakery production to develop snacks, beverages, sauces, and entrees for brands like Dole, Numi Tea, Heinz, Jamba Juice, and Seeds of Change. Mani worked closely with bakery Just Desserts for six years as head R & D chef for their nationally distributed products. The National Honey Board brought him on board for three years to create and implement a culinary student education program to promote varietal honey.  As an entrepreneur, he opened Sweet Bar Bakery in 2012 and sold it to a bagel and coffee team in 2018.

http://www.sweetbarbakery.com/

David Elias is the founder and Chef of dine@, as well as a freelance chef, instructor and designer in numerous culinary and development capacities . A San Francisco Bay Area native, Chef Elias has trained and worked at several of the region's most highly regarded veteran restaurants including Hawthorne Lane (San Francisco), Bay Wolf (Oakland), and Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc (Yountville). Bringing this fine dining experience together with an everyday appreciation of great food and cooking has fueled his more recent successes as chef for Heart Wine Bar, Kitchenette, and Ebbett's Good to Go.  David's experience as an instructor and mentor brings together his talent for the craft; a life-long love of cooking with over a decade professional experience; and his passion for sharing, inspiring, and building community through food.

Doug was just 7 years old when he began helping with the family business– making steamed pork buns (char sui bao) for delivery throughout the Bay Area. This family endeavor eventually evolved into a popular Chinese-American restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission district!

In his career as a corporate professional, Doug experienced cuisine of countries throughout the world and relished these culinary adventures.  Returning to what he loves, Doug founded ITK (aka In The Kitchen) Culinary in 2008 to bring the joyous exploration of international foods back to his community.

https://www.itkculinary.com/