Two rising Bay Area chefs received national recognition for both their culinary talents and strong leadership characteristics.
Oakland’s Matt Horn and San Francisco’s Gaby Maeda were two of 10 chefs honored in Food and Wine’s Best New Chefs list for 2021.
The magazine’s 33rd annual compilation not only awarded culinary artist for the quality of their food, but also for exemplifying leadership in a variety of ways - such as through community outreach or their management style.
Horn is the owner and pit master of Oakland’s "Horn Barbecue," located at 2534 Mandela Parkway. His restaurant is only a year old, but already features hour-long waits specifically to eat what the magazine described as "transcendent" brisket.
Horn also launched the "Horn Initiative" last April which raised $20,000 within two months and fed 4,000 meals to families, frontline workers and essential workers, according to SFGATE.
"I just want to just feed people, reach out and touch the community," he told the publication last year.
Maeda is the chef de cuisine for State Bird Provisions, an Asian Fusion restaurant at 1529 Fillmore St. The Honolulu native grew up eating many Asian cuisines and began cooking at the restaurant seven years ago. She used that background to influence the restaurant’s menu, through foods such as carrot mochi, egg tofu and shrimp toast.
She also rapidly rose to a managerial role in the restaurant and has been conscious of how she’s handled her staff’s mental health.
"I wanted to make sure I knew how to talk to staff, how to schedule, and how to deal with the stresses of everything," she told the magazine. "I learned how to properly give constructive criticism and positive reinforcement at the same time."
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