A native of New Orleans,
Chef Brenda Buenviaje was born into a creative
Filipino-Creole household that nurtured her love of food
and the arts. Upon graduation from Louisiana State
University with a BFA in Painting and Drawing, she
remained in New Orleans to follow her first love,
cooking.
Buenviaje began her
career by cooking at many notable restaurants in the
Crescent City including the highly acclaimed Mike’s on
the Avenue where she was hired as a pantry cook and
quickly promoted to Chef de Cuisine. Upon arrival to the
Bay Area, she was hired as the Executive Chef of Fusion
pioneer restaurant Oritalia where, after its move to
Union Square, she garnered much positive attention.
3 stars in the SF Examiner,
3 stars in SF Magazine, a listing
among the Top 5 Bold Newcomers in the
New York Times are among her many accolades. She
has twice been invited to cook at the James Beard House
in New York City.
Over the last ten years
in the Bay Area, Buenviaje has worked as Head Chef of
Sumi in the Castro, Head Chef of Café Claude in downtown
San Francisco and Executive Chef of DeLessio Market and
Bakery.
