Karen Anderson - our longest working employee of Kitchen Witch (8 ½ years!), has taught private cooking classes and is a passionate home chef. She will now be instructing our kids classes.

Sally Ault - trained in convection cooking, is District Sales Manager for the Dacor Company.

Dee Biller - has taught international cooking throughout Southern California for 24 years. Former Executive Chef for Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes restaurants, she serves as consultant and recipe developer for numerous restaurants

Phillis Carey - has been teaching at Kitchen Witch for over 20 years. Well-known throughout the Southland as a cooking instructor, cookbook author, and food writer, she features elegant but easy international menus. Her newest cookbook, The Casual Gourmet Presents Fast & Fabulous Chicken Breasts is now available at Kitchen Witch.

Nadia Frigeri - began her career in Treviso, Italy and has taught authentic Italian and ethnic cuisine throughout Southern California for 24 years. Many of Nadia's articles can be found in the San Diego Union-Tribune, San Diego Home
and Garden and The New Orleans Tribune.

Arlyn Hackett - is a nationally known cooking instructor and food writer. A member of the faculty of the New School University Culinary Center in New York, his column “Slice of History” appears weekly in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Shital Parikh - a passionate home chef since she was 8, is now teaching about her native food professionally. She has developed a cooking style that helps to prepare delicious and wholesome Indian food with ease in limited time. She reveals the mysteries of spices and diverse Indian popular and regional foods while creating sumptuous tasting Indian American fusion dishes and using ancient herbs to prepare food that nourishes the mind and body.

Annebritt Makebakken - one of our Kitchen Witch employees, is a self-taught home cook with a passion for all foods healthy, fresh and elegant.

Mineko Takane Moreno - has extensive training in classical Japanese, Chinese, French and Italian cooking, as
well as the art of Ikebana (Japanese style) and Western floral design. She co-authored the book Sushi for Dummies,
available at Kitchen Witch.

Karem Smith - works as a personal chef and a private cooking instructor. At Kitchen Witch she specializes in basic knife
skills, low-fat, healthy cuisine, and creative fusion cuisine.

Rosanne Zinneger - is certified in Confectionary Arts from Wilton School in Chicago. Rosanne has taught cake decorating for 5 years in North County San Diego, competes in local cake competitions, and has her own business, "Cakes by Rosanne".

David Abella - native of Honolulu, Hawaii and protégé to Roy Yamaguchi (Euro-Asian cuisine pioneer), began working in 1988 at the original Roy's in Oahu. After opening restaurants in Maui, Hong Kong, and Denver he settled in San Diego with his wife and son, joining the spectacular Roy's La Jolla. He is currently the Corporate Executive Chef of Roy's Joint Venture Restaurants.

Jim Barrasso - a long-time resident of Encinitas, is a graduate of Johnson and Wales University and holds a degree in culinary arts. He has been the culinary force behind nationally known steakhouses such as Mortons, Sullivan's and Flemings. His latest achievement is the opening of the fabulous Firefly Grill & Winebar, a comfortable place to sample, learn and enjoy boutique, Awarding-winning varietals while feasting on globally inspired comfort cuisine.

Bruce Logue - formerly of Mario Batali's acclaimed Babbo in Manhattan is now the head chef of the Four Seasons’ gem, Vivace. Chef Logue brings a unique cooking philosophy with a creative reinterpretation of regional Italian cooking that maintains the essence of each dish's origin.

Brad Luckinbill - Chef de Cuisine for Pacifica Del Mar, specializes in simple marriage of flavors using the freshest ingredients. He has honed his techniques in Pacific Rim, Italian and California cuisines and offers wonderful, “fresh from the garden” flavors producing flavorful balance with simply elegant results. He is Pacifica’s latest found gem, as seafood is his specialty and they are of course known as one of San Diego’s finest seafood restaurants.

Steve Pernetti - Cal-a-Vie's Executive Chef, has been in restaurants all his life. His family owned the Grand Bakery in Hoboken, NJ where Steve had his first job. After doing stints in several restaurants Pernetti headed for CA in 1982 and the kitchen of San Diego's Hotel InterContinental. Afterwards he opened a small luncheonette in Maywood, NY. He then headed back to CA and The Golden Door Spa, where he learned the delicate intricacies of spa cuisine - a lighter, yet flavorful fare. While at The Golden Door, Pernetti met the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia and left the Spa to become their personal chef in Houston, TX for a year. He joined Cal-a-Vie, as their Executive Chef, in 1994.

Scott Wright - is head chef and manager of Seaside Market, located in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, a gourmet market specializing in fresh fish, meat, cheeses, fine wines, and more. His personality is very casual, but his food is elegant, full of flavor, and easy to replicate at home.