About Simone

Welcome to my blog, and thanks so much for stopping by!

My name is Simone Shifnadel, and I am a chef who owns and operates a catering company in San Francisco, California. I’m self taught, which basically means that I’ve gotten where I am by working my tuchus off in assorted restaurants. They’ve varied from vegetarian cafes to taqueria to upscale bistro. I learned a lot from my line cook & sous chef experience, particularly the knowledge that I do not want to work in a restaurant.

Discovering that there was another option;
that allowed me to feed people without selling
my soul behind the line was truly a wonderful thing. Shortly after moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, I got a job as a family assistant. My job description was essentially to do the errands that took the mom away from her kids so she could simply be a great mom. What that translated to was a whole lot of cooking good food for the family. I catered their annual holiday party the first year I worked for them, and the next three as well. The feedback was great. Everyone was happy. Gradually, through some personal cheffing and a lot of hard work, my catering company was born, and continues to grow.

I love nothing more than making people happy with food, and am thrilled to be able to do just that. As a job, even! I consider myself a very lucky girl.

Since I can’t realistically cook for everyone, considering geography and other factors, I am very grateful for the opportunity to share food through this blog, in the form of recipes and the stories that go along with them. I hope they inspire you to buy less food in boxes, to explore your local farmer’s market, to get in the kitchen, and enjoy being there.

You can read more about my personal food philosophy, and what kind of content you will find in this blog here.

You are more than welcome to contact me at: zenbellysf(at)gmail(dot)com

Cheers!
Simone