Chef Miles Robins
Chef Dafne Mejia Bio 2023
Chef Dafne Mejia
Born in Los Angeles in 1992, Chef Dafne is the daughter of Suyapa and Luis, first generation immigrants from Honduras. Dafne started her career by following the American Dream, seeking to fulfill her parents’ hope for a better life in the land of opportunity. En route to becoming an OBGYN, Dafne attended SFSU where she was a biology major and quickly realized this was not her dream, but the dream of her parents.
From early in her childhood, Dafne’s creativity was what brought her the most joy. As she realized medicine was not her true passion, she made a bold transition and decided to follow her heart to the creative arts. Committed to forging her own destiny, Dafne enrolled in The Art Institute of California - San Francisco where she graduated with an Associates degree of Science in the Culinary Arts. During her education, Dafne started apprenticing under a Certified Master Chef, learning the art of cooking at the highest level for four years.
Moving back to Los Angeles in 2015, Dafne began cooking as a private chef for Aubrey ‘Drake’ Graham, a high profile assignment that catapulted her to a Sous Chef level. Following her time as a personal chef, Dafne was soon hired by a fine dining Vietnamese restaurant, allowing her to hone new skills, honor different traditions and discover a new level of respect for the sometime tedious process of cooking.
For most of her culinary career, Dafne’s primary love has been found in Italian cuisine. Her specialty, and most requested dish is born from the craft she’s perfected through more than ten thousand hours of meticulous work: Handmade Corn and Truffle Ravioli. Reminding her of her Latin American roots, Dafne fell in love with the culinary traditions of Italy as she proclaims, both cultures’ cuisines are “dominated by grandmas”. Following her passion for pasta, Dafne worked under many talented Italian Chefs, who all imparted their own expertise and artistry, ultimately inspiring Dafne to lean on her creativity in the kitchen.
In 2019 Dafne became the Executive Sous Chef at Spring Place, a private membership club in the heart of Beverly Hills. After helping to organize and build the restaurant from the ground up, Chef Dafne (and the rest of the culinary world) was rocked by the arrival of the pandemic. Though not discouraged for long, Chef Dafne was able to shift and once again, re-entered the private chef world.
While working as a Private Chef, Dafne was able to indulge in creativity, with social media and the kitchen as her playground, she experimented with primarily Italian cuisine.
While creating captivating stories of her pasta making endeavors to share with her followers, she began to gain some notoriety. Towards the end of 2021, Dafne was invited to join the world renowned cooking show, Hell’s Kitchen. She competed against 17 Chefs from all over the United States with Chef Gordon Ramsay as their mentor. Dafne went through many trials and
tribulations under the intense heat and stress (what Hell’s Kitchen is famous for). After 16 episodes, Dafne was the first person chosen to compete in the finals, and was the last woman standing in the competition.
Dafne had a victorious season full of many outstanding awards, including an editorial on Entertainment Weekly magazine, as well as being chosen by Danny Trejo for Best Taco. Her ‘Hellrizo’ was featured on the menu at Trejos Tacos for an entire month.
Chef Dafne ended her season on Hell's Kitchen as the runner up, and continues to inspire others with her playful sass and delicious food.
Chef Bre Jackson
Having worked her way through some of LA’s best restaurants like Jon and Vinny’s, Petit Trois, Broken Spanish, Bottega Louie and more, Chef Bre is now working as an independent chef. Using culinary influence from her Southern roots and LA background, the trained pastry chef is a triple threat in the kitchen who loves to seamlessly fuse different cultures and cuisines together on a plate. She has been featured in the LA Times and BuzzFeed.
Chef Raina Pore
Raina Poré of Detroit, MI, is currently based in Los Angeles and has been servicing the greater Los Angeles area through her company, Poré Private Chefs LLC, for the last 6 years. She got her start working in the entertainment Industry as an Artist and Songwriter, which is how she built her network of clients. Raina is known for her quick-witted personality , attention to detail, and her ability to work well under pressure, all while creating mouthwatering dishes with a Southern-Style approach.
As a self- taught Chef, Raina takes pride in facing challenges head on, being committed to her craft and constantly learning new techniques. Her love for creating & experimenting with flavors has led to her new sought-after business venture, an all-purpose seasoning blend, called TASTE.
Growing up, Chef Raina spent a lot of time in the kitchen, helping her grandparents and working in their family restaurant to gain knowledge and experience. While she loves to host & bring people together for a great time, cooking has always been second nature to her. Most of Raina’s best dishes are attached to her favorite childhood memories & some stemming from her experiences while traveling the US, in pursuit of other creative endeavors, Chef Raina is always eager to expand her pallet. She believes each plate is a canvas and gives the opportunity to pair art with her food. Her passion and dedication has led to her cooking for young music industry professionals and well-known industry vets. Raina has truly created a lane for herself as a superstar Chef. She is currently writing her first CookBook, which will be available in the near future.
Chef Benjamin Secor
Chef Jerk Muva
Hailing from the Bronx, New York, Ashley Morgan, better known as Jerk Muva, was born to a Jamaican mother and African-American father. Ashley was introduced to two distinct cultures from an early age, and there she developed an appreciation for the nuances that made each culture unique and special in its own way. Her curious nature and love of experimentation led her to the kitchen. She enjoyed watching her mother pour her heart into a delicious meal for the family, while also receiving a front-row seat to the more professional side of cooking through her father’s catering business. Ashley soon developed a love for cooking herself and learned very early on, the power that food has to bring people together and create a shared experience of joy.
In 2015 Ashley’s career as a travel nurse took her across the country to sunny California. Her life in California started off in Santa Barbara and eventually she settled in Los Angeles. On a personal journey and far from home, Ashley was inspired to pursue her creative passion and find ways to bring people together through great food with a touch of love. This desire was the catalyst for the creation of Jerk Muva’s Creations. A company born to feed the mind, body and soul. The Jerk is representative of Ashley’s Jamaican upbringing and love for that culture, while Muva represents her desire to empower women. Being a product of two cultural backgrounds, naturally, Ashley adopted a fusion style that has led her to develop delicious and unique staple dishes such as her“Jerk Chicken Egg Rolls” and “Oxtail Grilled-Cheese Sandwich”.
To this day, she continues to push the envelope with her dishes while maintaining the fundamental culinary principles she learned in her formal training as a Chef, from the New School of Cooking school. So whether it’s at one of her pop-up events on Sundays or if you book her for catering or private chef engagement, you will feel the essence of Jerk Muva in everything this fearless Chef has to offer the world.
Chef Markell Bio
Talented Chef Markell presents his author's project “Private Chef and Catering Service”. More than 10 years of experience in various gastronomic projects and restaurants. Worked with Italian, French, Spanish, Mediterranean, American, Mexican, Slavic and other cuisines. Markell shaped his style by learning from the best of Chefs who have dedicated their lives to a great cause. Patience, diligence and love for work, these are the qualities that characterize the Chef. Continuing to collaborate with major projects, Universal Studios, Casino Chains, Wolfgang Puck and others, Markell and his team continue to feed and delight gastronomy lovers in and around Los Angeles. High quality service and incredible taste - this is what you are guaranteed!
Chef Grace Buschke
Chef Grace is a “community-taught” pop up fanatic. The diverse kitchens, fresh menus and dynamic teams are reminiscent of the family style cooking that influences her Island/fusion cuisine. After spending a year learning the art of butchery from the master butchers at McCall’s Meat & Fish, she ventured into cooking privately, and later - publicly! She has worked with local stars the likes of Pyet DeSpain, Nyesha Arrington, Rashida Holmes (to name a few), and had a stint as the interim head chef for a new Los Feliz restaurant. She is making her independent debut as the headlining chef for the DTLA dinner club’s season finale!
Chef Miles Robins
Chef Raina Pore
Raina Poré of Detroit, MI, is currently based in Los Angeles and has been servicing the greater Los Angeles area through her company, Poré Private Chefs LLC, for the last 6 years. She got her start working in the entertainment Industry as an Artist and Songwriter, which is how she built her network of clients. Raina is known for her quick-witted personality , attention to detail, and her ability to work well under pressure, all while creating mouthwatering dishes with a Southern-Style approach.
As a self- taught Chef, Raina takes pride in facing challenges head on, being committed to her craft and constantly learning new techniques. Her love for creating & experimenting with flavors has led to her new sought-after business venture, an all-purpose seasoning blend, called TASTE.
Growing up, Chef Raina spent a lot of time in the kitchen, helping her grandparents and working in their family restaurant to gain knowledge and experience. While she loves to host & bring people together for a great time, cooking has always been second nature to her. Most of Raina’s best dishes are attached to her favorite childhood memories & some stemming from her experiences while traveling the US, in pursuit of other creative endeavors, Chef Raina is always eager to expand her pallet. She believes each plate is a canvas and gives the opportunity to pair art with her food. Her passion and dedication has led to her cooking for young music industry professionals and well-known industry vets. Raina has truly created a lane for herself as a superstar Chef. She is currently writing her first CookBook, which will be available in the near future.