A warm welcome to our new pastry chef, Vanessa Garrido!

Growing up in Guam, Vanessa's first introduction to cooking was in her grandparent’s catering kitchen and she spent her summers in high school baking with her grandmother. Her favorite was a family recipe for carrot cakes topped with tropical island fruits. When her family encouraged her to leave the island to pursue her culinary dreams, she moved to California to attend the Culinary Institute of America at St. Helena and fell in love with Sonoma County. She stayed and eventually raised her three children in the Bay Area.

Her career was launched as a pastry cook at Kimpton Hotels in San Francisco. She learned the art of breakfast pastries at The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and was a part of the opening team at The Four Seasons East Palo Alto where she gathered knowledge of chocolate, confections and cakes. She then became the Pastry Chef at Calistoga Ranch working with Chef Rogelio Garcia and has fond memories of baking black squid ink baguettes and Mexican conchas. She spent the last five years as Pastry Chef at acclaimed The Farmhouse Inn alongside Executive Chef Steve Litke where they showcased the bounty of Sonoma County’s farmers and winemakers. She joined TASTE in March of this year and is looking forward to curating menus highlighting produce, wine, dairy and chocolate!