CHEF TEENA ARORA

Chef Teena Arora began her culinary journey at her family owned and operated Steakhouse, American roadside, and Indian restaurants in the Midwest. Over the span of 25+ years, she was able to demonstrate and hone a multitude of skills in the food industry, but most notably Culinary Instruction & Education. 

Chef Teena is well known as, Currysutra® and has been teaching Indian vegetarian & vegan Indian cuisine in the San Francisco Bay Area for 15+ years. Her clients include Whole Foods Salud Cooking & Lifestyles School in San Mateo, Stanford University's Avanti Dining Society at Governor's Corner, Cavallo Point (guest Chef), the San Carlos Adult Center, and many private individuals, as well as Corporate clients. 

Over the past of the past six years, Chef Teena has competed in national food competitions like, the World Food Championships (WFC) in Las Vegas, the Live Well Network’s FoodRush Summer 2014 Grilling Competition hosted by Chef Ryan Scott, a native Californian, local Bay Area Chef, and she participated in the San Francisco Bay Area Travel & Adventure show sponsored by Cuisine Noir and the 16th Annual World Veg Festival hosted by the San Francisco Vegetarian Society (SFVS). 

In addition, Chef Teena has engaged in continuing education pursuits with the reputable, Shaw Academy where she has obtained foundational certificates in Personal Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, and Diet & Weight Loss. In addition, she has obtained certificates in Stanford Introduction to Food & Health and Child Nutrition courses via Coursera. Chef Teena has also conducted Wellness seminars in partnership with ConcernEAP for Corporate clients. From an academia standpoint, she has a Masters degree in International Management & Marketing, and a Bachelors degree in South Asian Languages & Cultures, and Business Administration.

In 2015, Chef Teena had partnered with Thumbtack, Cozymeal and Verlocal to offer a culinary experience at her Chef's table. Students partake in hands-on cooking classes and share a meal together from the fruits of their labor. The classes are interactive and engaging, educational and gastronomically belly-pleasing. 

Then, in 2016 her passion project was born.  In a partnership with Atherton Appliance & Kitchens, Chef Teena offers an exquisite, one-of-a-kind culinary  program called, "Explore Culinary Arts" with infinite passion, love and warmth. You can learn more about this initiative on the dedicated our story page here on this website. Local, passionate, and trained chefs along side Chef Teena are front & center of this culinary experience for corporate clients (team building) and private individuals (1:1 classes, special occasions and celebrations like birthday parties)! Come taste & see what sets these Chefs apart in the industry.  Enjoy an educational, intimate, relaxed, fun, and delicious evening at our in our kitchen! 

Chef Teena is dedicated to sharing her knowledge & obsession of plant based foods, and the medicinal benefits of Indian spices.  She is also crazy about mindful, healthy & Ayurvedic cooking. But, she also offers cooking instruction in Italian, Mediterranean and Asian cuisines. When Chef Teena is not in the kitchen, she enjoys HIIT boot-camp, cycling and yoga, globetrotting, watching The Ellen Degeneres Show, music concerts, dining out, entertaining, and spending time with family & friends. 

ChEf Deven Arora-Phraviseth

Chef Deven was born and raised in a family of cooks. In case you’re wondering this small apple native is Chef Teena’s son:-)

Deven has worked in many fine dining establishments in Minneapolis and in the Bay Area. He is well versed in FOH & BOH practices in the restaurant industry, in addition he possess knowledge in catering and has teaching cooking credentials that he honed with his mom at their family owned business, Explore Culinary Arts.

Chef Deven’s favorite cuisine is Asian (Thai, to be precise), his forte is Indian and he’s really good with Italian specialties and a natural or rather patient student of the baking arts.
His own and newly created culinary project is called, Szn n Spice.

When not in the kitchen, Deven spends his time playing video games, binging on Netflix, Clubbing, spending time with friends, and doing R & D on new recipes that spark interest in his palate.

CHEF TONY DIETZ

Chef Anton ("Tony") Dietz, a native of Germany, and a graduate of the Hotel & Restaurant Management program at San Francisco City College, has honed his culinary skills for more than 45 years in some of the most prestigious hotels, clubs, and restaurants in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Some of these establishments include the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental, Stanford Court, and Miyako and Fairmont Hotels, and the Bohemian and Pacific Union Clubs. Chef Tony was also a full-time Chef Instructor at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, and held the positions of Executive Chef and Corporate Director of Food Services for Saga Corporation and Atari, Inc., respectively.

Chef Tony also served on the Board of Directors of the Chefs association of the Pacific Coast, and conducted food-garnishing seminars for hotel kitchen staffs and caterers throughout the US. He also created prop foods for Aaron Spelling Productions, for such TV shows as Love Boat, Dynasty, and Hart to Hart, and directed the reorganization of the Commissary and Executive Dining room at 20th Century Fox studios in Los Angeles, California.

For the past 18 years, Tony has been Chef de Cuisine at Governor's Corner Dining Societies at Stanford University. His core specialties are kitchen ergonomics, quantity cooking, food presentation for plates, platters & buffets, and knife skills.

Chef Tony is passionate about holistic eating, sustainability, wholesome foods, and giving your body the nourishment it needs. When he is not in the kitchen, Chef Tony enjoys classical music, walking, traveling, dining out, and spending time with his grandchildren.

CHEF BRUNO PONSOT

Chef Bruno was born and raised in the Eastern French town of Besançon. At the age of sixteen, he entered an apprenticeship to become a chef.

After two years he graduated first of his region, he then fulfilled his military obligations in the French Navy. After that he worked in Burgundy, did a brief stint in London Trader Vic’s then returned to France to work at the world renowned Paul Bocuse Restaurant in Lyon as a pastry chef. Then he did an externship at Gaston Lenôtre Patisserie in Paris. Chef Bruno also worked a summer season with Alain Ducasse on the French Riviera then emigrated to Orlando, Florida where he spend the next 23 years as a chef in various successfully acclaimed French restaurants such as Le Coq Au Vin before opening his own bakery & café, Bruno’s Gourmet Kitchen, which he ran for 9 years until the financial turmoil that we all know forced him to close his doors.  That’s when he decided it was time to change and headed out to California where his craft would surely be more appreciated. He is currently working as a culinary instructor at the International Culinary Center in Campbell.

When Chef Bruno is not working, he enjoys gardening, playing  guitar, tennis, or the famed French card game, “tarot”.