Grains

Viola Buitoni

Independent Chef Instructor & Food Writer

Viola was born in Rome and raised in Perugia, Italy. With stories and knowledge from six generations, her dishes cross the best of California agriculture with the finest Italian food imports. After moving to the US to attend NYU, Viola started Buitoni & Garretti, a catering kitchen and Italian fine foods shop in New York City. She later moved to San Francisco where she began lecturing and teaching Italian food tradition workshops at the SF Italian Cultural Institute and Italian Consulate. She teaches Italian cooking at Milk Street, 18Reasons, and The Civic Kitchen year-round and at the Puglia Culinary Center in the summer. In October of 2021 she will lead an immersive fall foraging workshop in Le Marche. She is a regular contributor to La Cucina Italiana US. In 2020 the President of the Italian Republic awarded her the the title of Cavaliere dell’Ordine della Stella d’Italia for her work to further the culture and business of Italian food. She lives in SF’s Mission District with her husband, son and tiny dog.

Jen Nurse

Co-Founder of The Civic Kitchen S.F.

Jen is the co-founder of The Civic Kitchen cooking school in San Francisco, where she enthusiastically fosters self-sufficiency and joy in the kitchen, and civil discourse and connection around the table. She is a lifelong avid home cook, a pastry chef and former bakery owner, and an evangelist for the life-changing power of education. Jen is honored to serve as co-chair for the Grains category.

Linda Esposito

Linda Tay Esposito is a food business consultant with a focus on building equitable food systems. Linda’s work centers around helping food businesses flourish through the intersectional lens of food, sustainability and equity. Most recently she led the development of La Cocina Municipal Marketplace – using food as a creative approach to economic development by offering affordable, healthy food options and safe spaces while providing accessible business opportunities for low income, immigrant, women food entrepreneurs. Her past experience includes growing Hodo Foods from an artisanal producer to nationwide distribution, as well as a long career in product development and marketing in consumer technology, banking and CPG. To keep herself rooted in the kitchen, Linda teaches Asian culinary classes at 18 Reasons and Milk Street Kitchen. Linda has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and did undergraduate studies in economic development at Smith College. In her free time, she plants hard-to-find Asian herbs at the community garden at Fort Mason.