Making it easy for people to eat well is my calling in life.

As a Private Chef, I want to make sure you and your family have healthy, yummy food to eat at the end of a busy day.  Cooking what you want to have for dinner is something I put my heart into.

As a Caterer, I LOVE to give parties.  When someone would like to have a gathering, I come in and we create a fun, festive feast together for their guests and them to enjoy—anywhere from 2 people to 200.  I can handle everything from appetizers, to linens, to wine glasses, to party favors.

Sourcing local, seasonal ingredients is important to me and easy in a place like Santa Cruz.  I have relationships with many local farms and artisan producers.

Working for Disney Studios for many years, I felt creatively at a crossroads.  After entering and placing in a grilled cheese contest, I was inspired to take it professional.  I graduated from California School of Culinary Arts Le Cordon Bleu program in Pasadena in 2000.

I worked as a Chef for Fetzer Vineyards in Mendocino with John Ash as my mentor right out of school.  I had the joy of working with Emeril Lagasse at many events there during that time and enjoyed their 5-acre organic garden.

As a Sous Chef at Soif in Santa Cruz, I enjoyed the first year of the restaurant being open and then I moved back north.

I helped build & opened Barndiva in Healdsburg as Executive Chef.  We received SF Chronicle 4-stars and were on Michael Bauer’s Top 100 List for 2005.

Then I moved south again and was the Executive Chef Costanoa, helping to create Cascade Restaurant.

Craving a change from the restaurant scene, I followed many area chefs to Google, where I ran a vegan gluten-free cafe for a year.

Currently, I have my own company, by Marisa, in Santa Cruz.  I cook for private clients and enjoy catering for all kinds of events, from 2-200.

Rebecca Mastoris has been active in the restaurant and catering business for many years. Her passion for healthy food from a healthy farm system is her driving force.  She takes pleasure in her relationships with local organic farmers, selecting from the wonderful, seasonally available foods, creating beautiful and delicious meals.

Rebecca has been cooking professionally for 40 years as both a restaurant owner and currently a caterer at www.vibrantfoodscatering.com   She is currently an instructor of culinary arts at Bauman College of Holistic Nutrition in Santa Cruz, Ca.  She is a nutrition consultant and educator, as well as the recipe guru for the Live Earth Farm weekly CSA newsletter.

In January, classes will begin at Let’s Cook!, which aims to fill the void of recreational culinary classes in Santa Cruz County.

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Most of his cooking career has been in the Monterey Bay area where he has been able to work very closely with smaller farmers, smaller ranchers, and have access to quality cheeses from the greater west coast area. He also writes the recipe column for the Mariquita Farm weekly newsletter, with recipes utilizing the farm’s weekly harvest.

Jonathan spent nearly four years out of the area, cooking for producer J.J. Abrams, then actress Charlize Theron, in Los Angeles – a fun time for him, less fun for his spouse! He has two young children who are constantly critiquing and challenging his cooking and eating traditions. His classes are entertaining and interactive, with practical and useful recipes for attendees to take home.