Shi Gourmet is a Graduate of La Cocina’s business incubator program!

Owner: Ana Shi

Shi Gourmet was born out Ana’s concern for good health. She realized that there are many health benefits to eating less meat and wanted to create fresh vegetarian meals without sacrificing taste. Ana is a chef who is passionate about cooking and creating products that are truly delicious while also being good for you. Her mission is for you to experience my great tasting tofu. You can enjoy it as a healthy, protein-rich snack or take it home and incorporate it into your favorite recipes.

Shi Gourmet tofu spring rolls are sold at Whole Foods Markets throughout the Bay Area and her tofu is sold at Rainbow Grocery.

Phone: (415) 717-5163

Email: shisuisun@sbcglobal.net

Locations: Whole Foods Markets in the Bay Area and Rainbow Grocery.

Owner: Dilsa Lugo

Website: www.loscilantroscatering.com

Email: loscilantrossf@yahoo.com

Phone: (510) 230-7350

Where to Find Us: Los Cilantros is coming to Berkeley Bowl soon!

Facebook & Twitter: coming soon!

Catering: Yes! Click here to learn more about the catering program of La Cocina.

About Los Cilantros: Dilsa who’s from Cuernavaca, Morelos has been in contact with food since she was a girl. She comes from a large family where eating all together at home happened at least twice a day. Being from a town, she grew up with a garden where they grew corn, pumpkins, beans, lemons, mangoes, guayabas, green beans, chilies, and more. Her family did this for the love of seeing their food all the way from seed to table but also to help out economically. The passion Dilsa has for cooking and for fresh ingredients comes from there—from when she was a little girl helping her mom with the harvest. When she went to college she studied horticulture and learned a lot about pesticides and the harm they cause people and the environment.

When Dilsa came to Berkeley it was very exciting for her to discover the organic food movement—a movement that’s only recently beginning in Mexico. She realized that there weren’t many Mexican food places that had these issues in mind and that offered alternatives that were healthier for people and the environment. This is what inspired her to start a Mexican food business using local, seasonal ingredients that are organic whenever possible.

Los Cilantros is a catering and events company whose mission is never to lose authenticity and that people always enjoy the flavors of food that is simply but carefully prepared using the best ingredients available.

Owner: Kelly Zubal

Website: www.inticingcreations.com

Email: Kelly@inticingcreations.com

Phone: (415) 205-9422

facebook: facebook.com/pages/Inticing-Creations/105323996164855

Twitter: coming soon!

About Inticing Creations: Inticing Creations creates custom designed wedding and celebration cakes. Owner and cake designer, Kelly Zubal, will work with you to design a cake that will taste amazing, serve as a party centerpiece for your event, and highlight your special day. Delicious and unique cake flavors such as Salted Caramel Chocolate and Caramelized Pear Pecan are sure to wow your guests.

Inticing Creations puts a custom flair on special occasion cakes!

Owner: Maria del Carmen Flores

Website: www.estrellitassnacks.com

Email: estrellitassnacks@hotmail.com

Phone: Maria: (415) 240-6305 (Español) // Jose: (415) 571-1771 (Español/English)

facebook: facebook.com/pages/Estrellitas-Snacks/289650157721060

Where to Find Us: La Cocina Kiosk in The Ferry Building, Alemany  Farmers Market.

Catering: Yes! Click here to learn more about the catering program of La Cocina.

About Estrellita’s: Maria del Carmen Flores is a natural-born entrepreneur. She began her culinary career on the streets of El Salvador, selling cut fruit and homemade chips at a bus stop with her mother in San Salvador. Maria moved from El Salvador to Mexico and proudly brought her food to her own restaurant in Oaxaca.

When she moved to San Francisco, Maria began by selling tostadas – hand cut plantain and yucca chips – from the streets of the Mission District. She began at La Cocina in 2006 and now does Salvadoran food catering, and has a booth at the Alemany Farmer’s Market where she makes classic Salvadoran foods. Hers are some of the best pupusas and tamales in town. She still sells her famous tostadas in markets throughout the Mission and Excelsior districts.

Owner: Veronica Salazar

Website: www.huaracheloco.com

Email: elhuaracheloco@yahoo.com

Phone: (415) 572-6832

facebook: facebook.com/pages/El-Huarache-Loco/124269014260756

twitter: twitter.com/#!/elhuaracheloco

Catering: Yes! Click here to learn more about the catering program of La Cocina.

Locations: Alemany farmer’s Market, Off the Grid – Fort Mason, Marin Farmers Market, and EL HUARACHE LOCO RESTAURANT IS COMING TO MARIN COUNTRY MART VERY SOON!

About El Huarache Loco: Veronica Salazar was born in the neighborhood of Ramon Millan in Mexico City, Mexico. Veronica grew up around food, both in her home and in the restaurant that her family owned in La Raza, Mexico City. It was there that she grew up, like her daughters and son now, in the kitchen, running between pots, pans and the smells of food.

When Veronica moved to San Francisco, she saw taquerias everywhere but their food tasted nothing like home. Before long, Veronica was cooking all weekend and serving between 20—40 people in her house. It was time for the business to begin. Veronica’s passion for food quickly translated into success when she launched El Huarache Loco in 2005 from La Cocina’s kitchen.

After her initial successes in catering, Veronica began her market stand at the Alemany Farmer’s Market, bringing the authentic flavors of Mexico City (D.F.) to San Francisco (S.F.). The business is still very much a family business, with her husband Miguel running the business with her, her daughter Diana learning to cook in the same way that Veronica did, her son Joshua running between everyone’s legs, and baby Luana observing everything from her carseat.

El Huarache Loco believes that food is the most basic desire of everyone; to feel full, satisfied and happy is not only something necessary but something that, when done correctly, can bring home to wherever one finds oneself. El Huarache Loco loves San Francisco, and misses Mexico City, and is dedicated to bringing the flavors of the D.F., here, to their new home, in S.F.

You can find Veronica doling out her beloved huaraches, mixiotes and cactus salad every Saturday at the Alemany and Marin Farmer’s Market and Off the Grid Fort Mason. During fall, she will open a brick-and-mortar version of her Alemany outpost at the Marin Country Mart in Larkspur Landing.

Owner: Isabel Caudillo

Website: www.elbuencomersf.com

Email: elbuencomersf@gmail.com

Phone: (415) 824-2729

facebook: facebook.com/elbuencomersf

twitter: twitter.com/#!/elbuencomersf

Where to Find Us: Noe Valley Farmers Market - Saturdays

Catering: Yes! Click here to learn more about the catering program of La Cocina.

About El Buen Comer: El Buen Comer is a family business, Isabel works with Juan Carlos her husband and three of her sons, Hansel, Charlie, and Vladimir to bring the most delicious, homestyle Mexican food to San Francisco.

El Buen Comer is best known for authentic Mexican dishes made from scratch, using organic masa and hand-rolling enchiladas. At the heart of her menu are guisados, the staple of Mexico City homecooking. Slow-cooked, earthy sauces stewed with meat or a vegetable, they are served alongside rice and beans. Even the more familiar elements of the El Buen Comer menu — tacos and enchiladas — are made according to Mexican tradition, with meltingly soft shredded beef or chicken stewed slowly in Isabel’s signature green and red sauces. Isabel also serves a variety of other homestyle dishes, ranging from albondigas (savory meatballs in tomato sauce) to coditos con crema, a pasta and cream dish that has defined comfort food for generations of Mexicans.

El Buen Comer is available for catering, and sells every Saturday at the Noe Valley Farmers Market from 8am to 1pm.

Owner: Guisell Osorio

Website: www.saborsur.com

Email: chef@saborsur.com

Phone: (510) 406-4980

facebook: facebook.com/SaboresDelSurSF

twitter: twitter.com/#!/SaboresDelSurSF

Where to Find Us: Locations

Catering: Yes! Click here to learn more about the catering program of La Cocina.

About Sabores del Sur: Sabores del Sur (“Flavors from the South”) is the Bay Area’s premier South American catering company. Chef—owned and operated, Sabores del Sur uses only the freshest ingredients in all of our recipes. We emphasize organic, free trade and locally grown products. We take great pride in ensuring each dish is “made with love”—a philosphy Chef Guisell H. Osorio inherited while cooking side by side with her grandmother during her childhood in Chile.

After completing her culinary and business training, Chef Guisell was finally able to realize her life-long dream of owning and operating her own food and catering business. She started Sabores del Sur at a San Francisco commercial kitchen in 2002. “As word spread about our authentic South American foods and menu, we have doubled or tripled our production every year” says Osorio. “I’m so lucky to be doing what I love”. Our signature products, Empanadas and Alfajores, are a natural favorite of our regular clients, especially those craving an authentic taste from South America. They are bursting with flavor while offering the familiar warmth of South American cuisine.

Sabores del Sur—trusted caterers that add the perfect flavor to any event.