Taste the Legacy of La Cocina in San Francisco

La Cocina, “the kitchen” in Spanish, was born out of the informal food economy of the Mission District in 2005. They help chefs from immigrant and communities of color become self-sufficient culinary pioneers and launch their food businesses. The La Cocina program creates equitable opportunities so talented chefs without resources can thrive.

The two- to six-year program—like a mini-MBA for food—moves people, often women, from informal businesses into professional culinary work places. La Cocina helps them to write business plans, create menus, and formalize recipes. They lift up talented food entrepreneurs by connecting them to catering opportunities as they learn the food business and work towards realizing their dreams.

La Cocina offers participants subsidized commercial kitchen space in San Francisco's Mission District, hands-on industry-specific technical assistance, and access to market opportunities, such as catering, a stand at a farmers market, food trucks, pop-ups, or finding a restaurant space. They assist in moving packaged food products or snacks out into the community through national distribution channels as the women build equity in the community.

By supporting these women, La Cocina nurtures the food traditions that makes San Francisco so unique.

La Cocina has livened up the culinary scene across San Francisco with 55 graduates who have achieved operational self-sufficiency. You can dine at and support any of the 33 brick-and-mortar locations in the San Francisco region from the La Cocina program.

Head to downtown San Francisco to Onigilly (455 Market St.) and savor Koji Kanematsu's traditional Japanese rice balls with a modern twist. "Onigiri," a staple of the Japanese diet, is known for being healthy and delicious. Here you will find such customer favorites as teriyaki chicken, shiitake mushroom, salmon, and unagi, their number one seller.

You can find La Cocina food entrepreneurs around San Francisco at Off The Grid food trucks at Fort Mason, foodwise Ferry Plaza Farmers Market at the Ferry Building, the weekend Alemany Farmers Market, the Heart of the City at United Nations Plaza, the Mission Community Market, and the Noe Valley Farmers Market. 

Veronica Salazar of El Huarache Loco was the first home chef to graduate from the kitchen incubator program after joining in 2005. She grew up in Mexico City and spent time in her family's restaurant. You can taste her Mexico City street food at the Marin Country Mart at Larkspur Landing and at the Alemany Farmer’s Market.

Take BART to Oakland's Fruitvale Transit Village to find talented La Cocina entrepreneurs with brick-and-mortar restaurants. Chef Reem Assil operates Reem’s California, an Arabic eatery with a California influence offering halal flatbreads, wraps, and an Arab-style weekend brunch. Reem was a James Beard Award semi-finalist and one of the San Francisco Chronicle's “Rising Star Chefs” in 2017.

Nyum Bai, by chef/owner Nite Yun, delights with her modern version of Cambodian cuisine. It was voted one of Bon Appetit’s Hot 10 Restaurants in 2018 and Nite was named to the 2018 class of the San Francisco Chronicle's "Rising Star Chefs."

A very recent La Cocina graduate is La Guerrera's Kitchen, run by the mother-daughter duo of Ofelia Barajas and Reyna Maldonado, who moved from selling tamales in the Mission District to a relaxing space with a large outdoor patio near Oakland's Fruitvale Transit Village. Try any of their excellent GMO-free tamales (chicken, pork, or zucchini), barbacoa (beef cooked in chiles), or pozole.

At her Minnie Bell's Soul Movement food stall at the Public Market in Emeryville, you can taste Fernay McPherson's favorite dishes, such as mac & cheese, fried chicken, and candied yams. McPherson, a Bay Area native, grew up around her mother's legendary Southern cooking. Fernay's cornbread was voted 2018's best by the East Bay Express and McPherson's establishment was among the 2019 "Top 100 Restaurants" chosen by the San Francisco Chronicle. McPherson herself was named a "Rising Star Chef" in 2017.

Lamees Dahbour, owner of Mama Lamees, is also at the Emeryville Public Market. Dahbour, who started selling her traditional Palestinian food at the Mission Community Market, spent five years in the La Cocina food entrepreneur program before opening her business. Along with three of her four sisters who help with the business, Lamees creates healthy favorites such as ejja (tasty fritters), manazzalet zahra (a veggie cauliflower dish in a flavorful sauce), and chicken shawarma.