California’s Bay Area is home to some of the country’s best restaurants, and many global food trends – from the sourdough craze to the farm-to-table movement – can trace their roots back here.
But with the pandemic upending the restaurant world, Bay Area chefs have been doing what we’re all doing: cooking and eating more at home, and turning to food as a source of comfort, nostalgia and creative relief.
We caught up with our favorite chefs, some of whom have been driving the Bay Area’s scene for decades, and others who are shaping its future: Alice Waters, the doyenne of seasonal eating and founder of Chez Panisse; Gilbert Pilgram, the exuberant head chef of the longtime San Francisco favorite Zuni Cafe; Sarah Kirnon, the founder of Oakland’s beloved Caribbean restaurant Miss Ollie’s; Brandon Jew, the founder of the boundary-pushing Chinatown eatery Mister Jiu’s; and Reem Assil, whose California-inspired take on the traditional Arab bakery has won Reem’s national accolades.