MEET THE CHEFS
BIO
FOUNDING DIRECTOR & HONORARY CHAIRMAN, SOUTHERN SMOKE FOUNDATION
Midwest-raised, James Beard Award-winning Chef Chris Shepherd has helped change the landscape of the Houston culinary scene since opening Underbelly in 2012. He built the restaurant to support the Houston food community and its suppliers by buying local and drawing inspiration from the people and cultures that live in the city. Thanks to Chris’ vision and passion, Underbelly was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Best New Restaurant, was named one of the best new restaurants in the country by Bon Appetit and Esquire and was named one of 38 essential restaurants in America by Eater. Chris was named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2013 and was then awarded the 2014 James Beard Award for Best Chef: Southwest.
Chris was a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in 2019 and was named Robb Report‘s Chef of the Year the same year. Chris’ first cookbook, Cook Like a Local: Flavors that Will Change the Way You Cook—and See the World, was published by Clarkson Potter in September 2019 and was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Foundation Book Award. In 2023, Chris launched a TV show Eat Like a Local on Houston’s KPRC-TV, where he tells the stories of Houston’s rich and diverse food and beverage scene. He also hosts an onstage conversation series, Table to Stage, with the biggest names in food and beverage.
Chris began his fine dining career at Brennan’s of Houston, where he spent seven years in the kitchen and then ran the wine program for two. He left Brennan’s in 2006 to open Catalan Food & Wine, which was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America that same year.
Chris’ foundation Southern Smoke has distributed more than $11 million directly to people in the food and beverage industry in need via the Emergency Relief Fund.
BIO
Award-winning chef Stephen Barber leans on his Southern roots in his ingredient-driven approach to our restaurant at Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch. Barber brings over 20 years of experience from all over the US, including John Currence’s City Grocery, Norman Van Aken’s Norman’s in Miami and the former MECCA in San Francisco. In 2007, Stephen opened Barbers Q in Napa to critical acclaim. He lives in Napa with his wife and son.
BIO
Elliot Bell is the chef and owner of Charlie’s, a family-run, community-focused, neighborhood restaurant with generational goals, named after his son.
Originally from New Zealand, Bell’s culinary influences and inspiration span some of the world’s greatest dining destinations — France, Japan, Napa Valley, and New York. His restaurant career began with dishwashing and cooking positions in the small Iowa town where he grew up, and eventually led him to study hospitality management at the University of New Hampshire and the Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland.
Most recently, he served as the Executive Sous Chef at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, where he spent the past decade of his career. Prior to that, he worked in Boston, Seattle, and New York at several notable restaurants, including Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern.
As a member of the St. Helena Fire Department, where Bell has served as a volunteer firefighter for several years, few things are as important to him as community. He and his young family have lived in St. Helena for more than 10 years, and currently reside in their home around the corner from the firehouse and restaurant.
BIO
A Santa Ynez Valley native, Daisy Ryan is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and alum of some of New York City’s most acclaimed kitchens, including Gramercy Tavern, Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, and Per Se. Since opening Bell’s in 2018, she has been recognized as a Food & Wine Best New Chef, a James Beard semi-finalist for both Best Chef: California and Outstanding Hospitality, and earned a place on Food & Wine’s Best Restaurants in America list in 2024. Bell’s has held a Michelin Star every year since 2021.
Alongside her husband Greg Ryan, she co-founded Companion Hospitality, which now includes Bell’s, Bar Le Côte, Priedite Barbecue, Na Na Thai, Bodega, and their nonprofit, Feed The Valley—an initiative that combats food insecurity in the Santa Ynez Valley by harnessing the strength of the local restaurant community.
BIO
Greg grew up in the Willamette Valley near Portland, Oregon, where he attended both college and culinary school. He began his career at Tribeca Grill and Per Se in New York City, before heading to the west coast with Daisy. After working as Restaurant Director at LA’s Beverly Hills Hotel, he and Daisy spent a few years in Austin, where he led front-of-house service as the General Manager for Jeffrey’s and Josephine House. Shortly after the birth of their son, Henry, Greg and Daisy returned to California to open Bell’s in Los Alamos.
BIO
Brandon Jew is the Executive Chef and Owner of Mister Jiu’s and Moongate Lounge, and chef/partner of Mamahuhu. At Mister Jiu’s, Brandon’s contemporary Chinese-American restaurant in San Francisco’s Chinatown, he combines the Bay Area’s local, seasonal, and organic bounty with classic Chinese techniques and flavors.
Brandon’s dedication to evolve and define Chinese American cuisine in the Bay Area, and advocate for Chinese food’s global recognition has earned him top honors at Mister Jiu’s, including James Beard nomination for Best Chef California 2018, 2020, 2021 and winner for the honor in 2022, one Michelin star for 6 consecutive years running, Bon Appetit Hot 10 2017, and SF Magazine Chef of the Year.
Brandon’s cookbook Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown, is a 2022 winner of the James Beard Media Award in the Best Restaurant and Professional category. Brandon considers Judy Rodgers (Zuni Café), Michael Tusk (Quince), and his grandma, Ying Ying, to be his most influential mentors.
BIO
Thomas McNaughton, founding partner, co-chef and CEO of Flour + Water Hospitality Group, grew up in Southern New Jersey. He started working in local kitchens at the age of 15. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, then gained valuable experience working for Bay Area restaurants La Folie, Gary Danko and Quince. On his culinary journey, he also worked at a number of Michelin-rated restaurants in France, Germany and Italy, falling head over heels in love with the hand-rolled pastas of Bologna and the nonne that produce them.
Thomas is relentlessly driven by the community of farmers, craftsmen and “creatives” that call the Bay Area home. Always collaborative in nature, Thomas feels his number one job at FWHG is to nurture a culture where all team members feel heard, inspired and work in an environment that allows their individual talents to excel.
BIO
Ryan Pollnow, co-chef and vice president of the Flour + Water Hospitality Group, discovered a love for cooking and the micro seasons of the Bay Area while growing up in Northern California. Ryan completed culinary school in Sonoma County while working at restaurants and wineries to further develop his acumen in the field. He continued his education abroad at renowned restaurant Mugaritz in northern Spain before returning to the Bay Area. Traveling for culinary inspiration has always been an important part of his growth, and his time in Italy left a significant imprint on his love for seasonal cooking. Ryan led each FWHG kitchen individually as Chef de Cuisine before transitioning into his current role overseeing all culinary operations as co-executive chef.
BIO
Bay Area native David Nayfeld boasts a venerable restaurant pedigree having worked alongside some of the most esteemed names in the industry. The value of hard work was understood at a young age for Nayfeld, taking his first job at age 13, working at a local produce market followed by numerous kitchen positions throughout his teen years in restaurants.
After graduating from The Culinary Institute of America, Nayfeld moved to San
Francisco for a line cook position at Aqua. After two years in that role, Nayfeld received the opportunity to work with the chef of the century Joël Robuchon and, in 2005, he joined the opening team at the chef’s Las Vegas restaurant, Joël Robuchon at The Mansion at MGM Grand. While there, the restaurant earned many accolades including three Michelin Stars, Mobil Five Stars and the AAA Five Diamond Award.
In 2008, with a dream of cooking in New York City, Nayfeld accepted the highly coveted Senior Sous Chef position at Eleven Madison Park, a restaurant that not only would help define him as a chef, but would change the culinary landscape of New York City. During his time working under Daniel Humm, the restaurant received international acclaim and multiple awards including The World’s Best 50 Restaurants, numerous James Beard Awards, Three Michelin Stars, and Four Stars from The New York Times.
While in New York, Nayfeld worked to broaden his knowledge in all areas of the restaurant business. He took management classes and pursued his interest in wine becoming a certified sommelier, having passed the first two levels of The Court of Master Sommeliers.
In 2015, Nayfeld partnered with Matt Brewer, formerly of Hogsalt Hospitality, to start Back Home Hospitality in his native San Francisco. They opened their first restaurant, Che Fico, in March of 2018, a concept that explores Italian fare through the lens of California with handmade pasta, pizzas and house made salumi plus dishes from his family’s Jewish-Roman heritage known as “Cucina Ebraica.” Che Fico has received many accolades from the press including being named one of Bon Appetit’s Top 10 Best New Restaurants in America as well as one of Esquire Magazine’s Best New Restaurants. Nayfeld was also named StarChefs 2019 Rising Star Chef.
In April 2019, they opened a second restaurant, Che Fico Alimentari, an off shoot of Che Fico inspired by the wine bars of Rome. Five years later, the team made the decision to transition the restaurant into an event space to meet large party demands.
In the fall of 2023, Che Fico Parco Menlo, an evolution of Che Fico created for the Peninsula, opened at Springline, a new 6.4-acre mixed-use development in Menlo Park, California. In winter 2024, they followed with Il Mercato di Che Fico, an Italian-focused market that features local produce, prepared foods, a fish and meat butcher counter, salumi, wine, a walk-up gelato window, catering and more. In October of 2024, Che Fico Pizzeria opened at Thrive City, the community gathering space surrounding Chase Center. This project marries two of Nayfeld’s lifelong passions: pizza and the Golden State Warriors.
Nayfeld’s commitment to the hospitality industry far surpasses his restaurants’ kitchens. He was one of the founding members of the Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), a trade group formed in 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic to advocate for independent restaurants. The coalition most notably wrote a bill with members of Congress that secured $28.5B for vulnerable restaurants across the country. Nayfeld’s dedication and perseverance earned him a seat on the IRC board of directors, a peer-elected position where he continues to work in support of the restaurant industry. During the pandemic, Nayfeld was awarded both the Jefferson Award for public service for his pioneering program called “Family Meal” which fed people in need as well as the Golden State Warriors Impact Warrior Award for community leadership. In 2023, Nayfeld was named a semi-finalist by the James Beard Foundation for Outstanding Chef.
Additionally, Nayfeld has written his first cookbook with author Joshua David Stein called Dad What’s for Dinner?, inspired by his culinary exploration with his daughter, Helena. Slated for release in summer 2025, it is the first book of its kind to speak directly to single fathers — filled with a mix of recipes, tips, meal planning strategies, and a frank emotional discussion of parenting that is guaranteed to help other caregivers feed their families with joy and ease.
BIO
As a teenager, California Bay Area native Stuart Brioza began his cooking & restaurant career. He was immediately entranced by the kitchen’s sensory wonders and the skills and techniques of the professional chef. Even at a young age, Stuart recognized food’s powerful role in defining the cultures and identities of people, regions, and nations.
With his wife and collaborator, the celebrated Pastry Chef Nicole Krasinski, Stuart co-owns several modern-day icons of San Francisco’s vaunted culinary scene: State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar. These restaurants are not simply beautiful dining rooms, but spaces meticulously designed to further the idea of food’s ‘locale’. They share the origin stories of the ingredients served, and capture & convey a genuine sense of place for San Francisco and the greater Bay Area.
Stuart characterizes his honest & bold cooking style as an evolution of California Cuisine, which is to seek out the best examples of organic ingredients in season and respecting their integrity through a cooking process defined by technique and creativity. His kitchens source Northern California’s incomparable ingredients (such as quail, anchovies, oysters, seaweeds & wild mushrooms), producing a culinary repertoire that highlights seasonal abundance, preservation, smoking, fermentation & most notably lessening the gap in ‘zero waste’ cooking.
Mentorship, collaboration & management ‘idea workshops’ are examples of how Stuart & his restaurants continue to hone in on goals & continue to have a significant influence on the greater conversation around food and hospitality.
In order to fuel his work as a chef & restaurateur, Stuart spends much of his time with his family in the great outdoors—snowboarding, cycling, gardening, camping, and exploring the globe.
He attributes his national & international success to the delicate balance of focused, yet curious cooking & a lifetime of thrill seeking
BIO
Way before she was a pastry chef, Nicole was an art student who baked bread. Practically every morning in her late teens, she made challah dough, leaving it on the counter to rise while she took photography classes at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. When she got into the School of Art Institute of Chicago, she moved to the Windy City. And when she needed a job to pay for school, she found a little bakery in Wicker Park called Red Hen Bread.
Three weeks into her time there, she realized that getting paid to do something she loved beat paying to learn something she wasn’t even sure she liked. When Red Hen’s owner and head baker, Nancy Carey, told her she was a recovering fine artist who found her way into a life of wheat and yeast, her path became a model for Nicole. Only instead of an artist turned baker, she became an art school dropout turned baker’s apprentice and soon-to-be pastry chef.
She joined Stuart in Ellsworth, Michigan, at Tapawingo. For a while, she stuck with the old-school desserts they’d been making, but she got antsy and decided to create a few herself. Thanks to a stack of cookbooks, she studied under mentors she never met, exploring the food of greats through their written recipes. And because it was essentially just her in the kitchen, she also had the freedom to mess up. So she did and she had to figure out why by trying again and again. Every time she did, she got better. When Nicole and Stuart were hired at Rubicon in San Francisco, she kept refining her technical skills as a pastry chef. This is where she discovered the pain and pleasure of making true French macarons, which would end up being the inspiration behind State Bird’s now signature ice cream sandwiches.
When State Bird opened, she embraced a new kind of freedom. She took inspiration whenever and from wherever it came, to evolve constantly. And this spontaneity gave the pastry program a vitality it might not have had otherwise. It wasn’t carefully planned or even well thought out but it stuck because it was awesome, and trying to be awesome was essentially her only guiding principle. That style continues to resonate and grow with her pastry teams at The Progress and The Anchovy Bar, all while discovering individuality and singularity in each restaurant.
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