Veronica Bran is a Guatemalan-born culinary artist who brings her home-style cooking to the Bay Area. Rooted in Guatemala’s rich food traditions, she leverages family recipes and street-food memories to craft comforting, authentic Guatemalan plates. Xula’s signature ChiQ’aq salsa is a fiery, authentic salsa crafted from traditional ingredients inspired by the Mayan Kawchikel term meaning “where the fire is.”
When Veronica joined La Cocina in 2024, she reimagined her business concept and began to test market demand through farmers markets and pop-ups. She gained exposure at large events like Outside Lands and our San Francisco Street Food Festival.
Cali Sweet Cakes, founded by Ricquel Thomas, roots its story in the Bay Area and the comforting charm of a family kitchen, but with a polished, modern twist. Ricquel’s journey into food entrepreneurship began from a love of simple, homemade desserts. And since joining La Cocina in 2024, she has transformed Cali Sweet Cakes into a growing Black Bay Area business offering catering, appearing at pop-ups with local shops, and expanding from one farmers market at Civic Center to a second farmers market in Noe Valley.
Born and raised in Mexico City, Amalia and Saúl Bernabe share a deep devotion to the art of Mexican cooking. With over 25 years of experience as chefs in some of Mexico City’s most authentic kitchens, the couple nurtured a dream of bringing the warmth and complexity of their homeland’s flavors to a new audience. That dream took root in the Bay Area, where they founded Tonantzin, an Aztec culinary tribute to their heritage with a name that signifies nurture and abundance.
When they joined La Cocina in 2023, Amalia and Saúl began transforming their vision into a thriving food business. They now have a kiosk at the Ferry Plaza and Mission Community Markets where they share steaming tamales wrapped in tender corn husks, velvety champurrado, and rich Mexican coffee.
In 2025, we brought back our gala after five-year hiatus to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We were overwhelmed by and grateful for the generosity, deliciousness, community, and love in the room. Every bite and moment of the evening told a story of the work we’ve collectively done over the past two decades.
A huge thank you to our sponsors for their commitment to supporting La Cocina and making this brilliant affair possible.
We are also humbled by the generous time and talent that these culinary leaders gifted:
