Caleb Zigas

Overview

Caleb was accidentally hired as an assistant pastry chef at Ruppert s Restaurant in his hometown of Washington DC when he was 16 years old and hasn t left the kitchen since. He has worked dish lines at national chains service counters for independent butcher shops and front of the house for some of the best restaurants in the country (and some of the worst too). After graduating from the University of Michigan with degrees in English and Globalization and Culture Caleb interned with ProMujer in El Alto Bolivia learning about microfinance in its infancy and bringing those programming lessons to bear at La Cocina when it opened its doors in 2005.Since joining La Cocina Caleb has had a hand in shaping the incubator program as it has achieved national recognition. Caleb s work on the program curriculum and social entrepreneurship innovation has been celebrated by the Hitachi Foundation when they named him a Yoshiyama Young Entrepreneur and by Inc. Magazine s recognition as one of 5 Community Organizers making a difference. More recently Caleb was behind La Cocina s San Francisco Street Food Festival and Conference which ultimately led to involvement in the legislation changes that brought increased mobile vending opportunities to San Francisco. He has been named one of San Francisco s Tastemakers by 77 Magazine though he might be as proud that before that he was named Best Waiter in San Francisco. Bilingual a trained diversity leader HACCP Certified and a California Food Safety Manager Caleb s combination of food industry experience and commitment to social justice is what helps defines La Cocina recently named 2011 Best Small Businesses by the San Francisco Bay Gardian.Caleb brings a love of food and a passion for social justice to La Cocina and a belief that everyone deserves an opportunity to make a living doing what they love to do.