CHEFS
LAMONT PERRIMAN
EXECUTIVE CHEF, OWNER
- Former Culinary Expert and Resident Chef for Williams-Sonoma
- Corporate/resident Chef for Hudson Daniel, food and beverage marketplace connecting community chefs
- Focuses on locally sourced ingredients with farm to table flair
- Co-founder of The Oakland Block Party, community food event benefiting Oakland Youth Education
- "I love how food is innately conversational and brings people and cultures together."
FERMAN SWAIN JR.
SOUS CHEF
Oakland native, Ferman Swain Jr. has a multi-flavor type palate and personality -- he likes just about anything you put in front of him. He finds himself coming back to the light flavors of summer ingredients, and the earthy flavors of fall ingredients most often. The bright and refreshing tastes of summer and the hearty aromas of fall warm both his heart and soul equally.
He often finds himself creating dishes based on combinations of several different types of cuisine. Northern Italian, Cajun, and Moroccan are some of his favorite cultures to draw inspiration from, just to name a few. Ferman finds that successfully combining these different flavor profiles really adds meaning to when someone tells him how good his food looks and tastes. At the end of the day, discovering new tastes and enjoying a meal is the epitome of memorable experiences which is Ferman's favorite way to give back to the world.
JOSEPH HALL
SOUS CHEF
Joseph worked for 22 years in the Bay Area restaurant and bar industry before transitioning to catering and events full time. He has the honor of having a Michelin star restaurant on his resume, where he was line cook at Kin Khao in the Parc 55 hotel in SF while it earned the rating.
Joseph's professional experience comprises of several other noted Bay Area restaurants including Dat Spot in SF where he was on the opening team, and was sous chef to Eric Amida at Blu in the Four Seasons.
While working in the hospitality industry, Joseph studied Couture women's clothing design at the Academy of Art university, earning a Master's of fine art in Fashion design - which translates beautifully to food!
His passion remained in the food scene, including wine, beer & spirits; I love to continue my education on these subjects. My specialty is sauces and ethnic foods, particularly African and black heritage cuisine.
I love working at MPCE because I not only get to cook great food with excellent chefs but our company has the best people in the Bay Area! I feel like family here!!
BETH GIL
PASTRY CHEF
-Owner- Renaissance Specialty Cakes and Desserts, Berkeley, Ca
-Specializes in wedding cakes, specialty cakes and desserts
-Attended the prestigious California Culinary Academy patisserie and baking program
-Former Pastry Chef Four Seasons, Seattle
- “I think every woman should have a blowtorch,” Julia Child