Janelle Weaver
Janelle is the co-owner and chef at the Bewildered Pig in Philo, CA. Her food is exquisite, utilizing what is most in season and every part of each vegetable or cut of meat. Janelle was our first ever partner restaurant chef for Love to Table, designing and helping us cook a meal for the homeless. She has since collaborated with us for numerous meals for homeless at the shelter as well as locals in Philo, imbuing her cooking technique and eye for beauty into the food we serve and elevating it to the next level.
Aref Elgaali
Aref has been an integral part of our nonprofit since the start of Love to Table, when we first hosted our sit down restaurant in his Sudanese restaurant in the tenderloin, Z Zoul. Aref was an immediate yes to collaborating, and over the years has supported our vision of a farm to table restaurant for those in need, offering his space and his heart to support our work. Aref cooks and serves authentic Sudanese food in his restaurant, and the restaurant overflows with love and connection with his family and regular customers who come for the food and love.
Ed Brown
Ed is a Dharma heir who studied under Suzuki-Roshi and ran the kitchen at the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. He is famous for his cookbooks, including The Tassajara Bread Book. From our start as Love to Table, Ed has infused his love of cooking into our meals, guiding us in using ingredients and combining flavors. Ed is also a renowned meditation teacher outside the kitchen, and thus cooking and baking with him become a form of meditation, as he shows his care for every ingredient and element of the meal.
Brown helped to found Greens Restaurant in San Francisco. He and founding chef Deborah Madison wrote The Greens Cookbook in 1987. He is the subject of the documentary, How to Cook Your Life.
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