Tastemakers and Storytellers

Chef

B.B. Huff

Chef B.B. Huff, blends 15 years of storytelling in the nonprofit industry with nearly a decade in the culinary realm. Her palate is deeply rooted in her mother’s kitchen, nourished at the Culinary Institute of America and tempered at the LA Times Test Kitchen and managing the Sur la Table Cooking School in Scottsdale, AZ.

She is the Owner and Executive Chef of The Salted Parlor, a boutique catering firm specializing in storytelling through food. 

​When she is not in the kitchen she enjoys game night with family, reading fiction, film and art.

Chef

Josh Dendo

Chef Joshua Dendo is native San Diegan living in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2008, he enrolled in The California Culinary Academy’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality program. He started his internship at Sushi Ran, a prominent Japanese restaurant in Sausalito. Throughout his time there he learned about fish from all over the world and Japanese and Pacific Rim cuisine. Currently he is Executive Chef and Executive branded concept chef for Compass Group. Joshua lives in San Francisco, California with his wife Emily and a baby boy.

Chef

Terri Dien

Her lifelong passion took her from New York to San Francisco, where her culinary career started.  In addition to working at several Bay Area restaurants, Chef Terri also taught cooking for nearly 15 years and is currently the Executive Program Chef at Compass Group and has recently released a Chinese dumpling cookbook.  We challenged Chef Terri to curate a collection of ingredients used to make authentic street snacks. 

Chef

Daniel Meuse

Born and raised on Cape Cod and rooted in San Francisco's Sunset District, Daniels is most Influenced by the ocean's coasts, travel, and connections made over food. Daniel’s balanced, rustic, and season forward cuisine weaves in his passion for waste reduction,  sustainability and farm forward style. Daniel is currently working with as Chef de Cuisine for the Compass Group.   

Chef

Dani Kim

A graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Johnson School at Cornell, Chef Dani Kim built the first decade of her professional resume in the hospitality industry working for global hotel chains and the U.S. Army. Traveling the world and learning the unique flavors and cooking styles of different cultures, her passion for food is undeniable. As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, she worked at a three-star Michelin restaurant before moving into a position with Compass Group's Teaching Kitchen .

Chef

Dorothy Calimeris

Food has been Chef Dorothy’s driving passion and obsession her entire life.  She entertained friends and created parties her entire childhood and started working in food services when she was still in high school.  Her professional food career started with Martha Stewart Omnimedia in New York.  Today she is Culinary Support for the Compass Group in the San Francisco Bay Area.

As a best-selling cookbook author, culinary instructor, and wellness coach, Chef Dorothy is well versed in creating healthy meals that are packed with flavor. 

Chef

Troy Lepisi

Born in Hawaii and raised in San Jose, California, Chef Troy credits his passion for cooking to his parents and the traditional Polynesian food that he grew up on.  As a result, he was constantly in the kitchen with his parents. As a self-taught chef, by way of Youtube and PBS cooking shows, Troy was able to sharpen his skills and gained more knowledge and direction when he landed his first culinary position with Compass Group.  Working his way up the culinary ladder for the last 10 years, Chef Troy is currently a Chef de Cuisine at Compass Group.

On any given weekend, you can find Chef Troy at one of his pop-ups events or using his entrepreneurial skills running his own catering business, Afi House Kitchen.  All of this passion and work helps him reach his ultimate goal of introducing traditional Polynesian flavors to familiar dishes. 

Chef

Kitami Lentz

Chef Kitami Lentz is a Bay Area local chef specializing in Japanese, Afro-Caribbean, and plant forward cuisines. Born and raised in Santa Cruz, CA, Kitami has always had an affinity for cooking with local ingredients, organic produce, and the fruits of the sea. Her 15 year cooking career ranges from wedding and event catering, cake baking and decoration, high end restaurants, and cooking at health and wellness centers. Currently Kitami is a Global Executive Brand Chef for Compass Group. When she isn’t in the kitchen, Kitami enjoys camping, golfing, and Afro-Brazilian dance.

Chef

Luca D'Orio

Born and raised in Catanzaro the capital of the southern region of Italy, Chef Luca D'Orio developed his passion for food at a very early age.  Starting in his family's kitchen, Chef Luca learned to take great pride by watching how food was prepared from the art of making salumi to the canning of anything that was growing in the family garden. As a teen , he worked in a professional pastry laboratory and obtained his culinary degree in Italy at the Professional Institute for hotel and restaurant service. He then ventured to the world, from London to South Africa back to Italy from the lake region to his hometown to finally land in CA, from Saratoga to San Francisco and  Sonoma coast for over ten years. Currently he is Chef for the Italian branded concept cafe with Compass Group.