We offer an evolving roster of world-class chefs and speakers. Based on your event's theme and needs, we will work with you to choose the right chef and speaker combination for your audience. We work with dozens of chefs throughout the United States and around the world.
Sample Chefs
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Chris Ratcliff
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Chris Ratcliff is a private chef and Bay Area native who brings true Michelin credentials to his events. Chris grew up visiting farmers markets and foraging for mushrooms and huckleberries at his family's ranch in Mendocino. He possesses a deep-rooted passion for local, seasonal, farm-fresh ingredients. His menus, crafted for each event, reflect his diverse culinary experiences and unwavering dedication to sourcing the finest quality ingredients.
Since attending Tante Marie Cooking School in San Francisco, Chris honed his skills at Three Michelin Starred Quince and the world-renowned Astrid y Gaston in Peru. He held the position of Sous Chef at Cotogna and his final restaurant role was as Chef de Cuisine at Seven Hills before transitioning to a career as a private chef. Chris and his wife currently live on the Mendocino coast with their 2 children. When they are not visiting his wife’s home country of Peru for cultural and culinary inspiration, you will find Chris cooking up amazing meals throughout northern California and sharing his recipes with his clients and community. |
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Hanif Sadr
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Chef Hanif Sadr was born in Paris, France and raised in Tehran, Iran. He studied material science at Azad University and moved to the US at the age 30, landing in Washington, DC, then eventually settling in the Bay Area.
In 2013, he started cooking at Golestan Kids Persian Language Immersion School in Berkeley CA. He is chef and co-founder of Komaaj, a Northern Iranian restaurant based in San Francisco. Komaaj was founded in the spring 2015, focusing on Iran’s three northern provinces of Gilan, Mazandran and Golestan. Hanif has received coverage in the New York Times and many other publications for his extraordinary depth as a chef. |
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Anna Voloshyna
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Anna Voloshyna is a Ukrainian-American culinary storyteller, activist, and author of "BUDMO! Recipes from a Ukrainian Kitchen." Raised in Ukraine, her cooking style blends traditional Eastern European and Ukrainian recipes with modern influences, showcasing her dedication to nourishing dishes and high-quality ingredients. Anna honed her culinary expertise at the San Francisco Cooking School, where she completed their Culinary Arts program.
Anna's expertise in Ukrainian and Eastern European foods has led to features in top publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Food and Wine, as well as participation in various culinary projects and speaking engagements. Committed to sharing her culinary knowledge, Anna hosts culinary events, both in-person and online cooking classes and workshops. Her contributions to the culinary arts have earned her accolades, including the IACP Media Award and the Foreword Indies Best Indie Cookbook Award. With every dish she cooks and every page she writes, Anna invites the world to explore and celebrate Ukraine’s rich culinary heritage. |
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Eric Minnich
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A Bay Area native, chef Eric Minnich has a simple ethos, combine a straight forward approach to food with a deep appreciation for the best seasonal produce.
With a degree in culinary arts and nutrition from Johnson & Wales University, Eric further honed his craft working alongside acclaimed chefs like Traci des Jardins and Michael Mina, and at prestigious establishments such as the Michelin starred Madera at The Rosewood Sandhill and RN74. He also played a key role in launching nationally recognized restaurants, including The Commissary in San Francisco. Beyond the kitchen, Eric partners with local food companies to refine their products and connect better with customers. His collaborations include Air Protein, Melli, Mission Barns, Teaspoon and Hyphy Burger, amongst others. Ingredient integrity and quality, creativity, flavor and innovation are his guiding principles, whether he’s crafting dining experiences or consulting for food ventures. |
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Rala Ziadeh
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Rala Ziadeh is the co-founder and head chef at Lammeh NYC.
Food has been central to Rala’s life, shaping her from an early age. Growing up in Aleppo, renowned for its culinary heritage, she was inspired by her grandmother, who taught her to bring out the best in every ingredient. Her family’s traditions of food preservation, such as making rose jam and pickles, enriched her cultural understanding, while her mother’s coastal roots introduced her to the world of seafood. By 14, she was documenting recipes that celebrated love, care, and tradition. In Damascus, she delved into Damascene flavors, perfecting dishes from her childhood. Later, in Canada and Brooklyn, cooking became her sanctuary and a connection to her Syrian roots. In 2024, Rala co-founded Lammeh NYC, a boutique Syrian catering and pop-up dinner events company based in New York City. As Executive Chef, she shares the love, depth, and stories of Syrian cuisine, creating meaningful connections through food. |
Sample Dinner Menus
Sample Speakers
Our network of exceptional and fascinating speakers is vast. Here are a few brilliant storytellers we’ve brought in to catalyze meaningful conversations with attendees. We’ll work with you to find the right speaker to match your event theme and goals.
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David Gelles
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Our friend David Gelles is an award winning reporter for the New York Times. He currently writes for the Climate desk, and previously wrote for the Business section and was the Corner Office columnist. His reporting has won Gerald Loeb and SABEW awards, and he was part of the team that made “Boeing’s Fatal Flaw,” a documentary film that won the News and Documentary Emmy for outstanding business coverage.
Before joining the Times in 2013, he spent five years with the Financial Times. At the FT, he covered tech, media and M&A in San Francisco and New York. In 2011 he conducted an exclusive jailhouse interview with Bernie Madoff, shedding new light on the $65 billion ponzi scheme. In the fall of 2025, David debuted his most recent book, “DIRTBAG BILLIONAIRE: How Yvon Chouinard Built Patagonia, Made a Fortune, and Gave It All Away.” |
His 2022 book, “The Man Who Broke Capitalism: How Jack Welch Gutted the Heartland and Crushed the Soul of Corporate America — and How to Undo His Legacy,” was an instant New York Times bestseller.
His first book, “Mindful Work: How Meditation is Changing Business from the Inside Out,” was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015.
His first book, “Mindful Work: How Meditation is Changing Business from the Inside Out,” was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2015.
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Sheila Warren
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Our friend Sheila Warren is an internationally recognized leader in advancing emerging technologies. She was recently appointed as the CEO of the Project Liberty Institute. Project Liberty builds solutions that help people regain control of their digital lives. Sheila is also the Chief Strategy and Operations Officer of Project Liberty.
Previously, she served as the founding CEO of the Crypto Council for Innovation, the premier global alliance advancing responsible crypto innovation worldwide, where she remains an advisor. Sheila founded the blockchain and digital assets team at the World Economic Forum, where she served on the Executive Committee. As the Deputy Global Head of the Forum's Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, she oversaw strategy across 16 countries to advance the adoption of new technologies in the global public interest. |
Sheila began her career as an attorney at Cravath, Swaine & Moore after earning her J.D. at Harvard Law School. She graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a degree in Economics and spent a decade in civic technology, including as an attorney, entrepreneur, product head, and TechSoup senior executive. She was the founding Executive Director of civic tech platform NGOsource, and she has dedicated her career to ensuring new technologies are built equitably and ethically. Sheila has testified in front of Congress and various state legislatures and frequently comments in print, pod, and television, with appearances in Bloomberg, CNBC, PBS, NPR, FT, NYT, the Washington Post, Politico, Yahoo Finance, Roll Call, Morning Brew, and others. She has been on stages on five continents, she has lectured at Wharton, Stanford, Cal, and Oxford, and she has been named one of the Most Powerful Women in Washington by Washingtonian Magazine.
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Dr. Anousheh Ansari
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Dr. Anousheh Ansari is an Astronaut, a Hi-tech serial entrepreneur and a global Change Maker. She is currently the CEO of the XPRIZE Foundation, the world’s leader in designing and operating large incentive competitions to solve humanity’s grand challenges. Ansari sponsored the $10M Ansari XPRIZE, igniting a new era for commercial spaceflight. Prior, Ansari served as CEO of Prodea Systems, a leading Internet of Things technology firm.
She captured international headlines by embarking upon an 11-day space expedition, becoming the first female private space explorer, first astronaut of Iranian descent, first Muslim woman in space, and fourth private explorer to visit space. Ansari co-founded The Billion Dollar Fund for Women, with a goal of investing $1 billion in women-founded companies by 2020. Her memoir, My Dream of Stars, aims to share her life story as inspiration for young women around the world. |
Getting hungry? Contact us and we’ll start cooking up your event right away.