About Our Chef
Private Chef Monica Castillo was born in Caracas, Venezuela. From a very young age she learned the true meaning of farm-to-table eating. Her family's business consisted of making artisanal fresh cheese and selling it to gourmet markets in the capital of her country. Between farming multiple fruits and vegetables and living off the animals from the farm, she has a deep understanding of what real food should look and taste like.
As a result, her passion for food and cooking started early on, but she only started considering it as a career path when she moved to Paris, France, at the age of 18, and fell in love with French cuisine. She could finally merge her love for cooking and her artistic need for creating. She spent the next three years traveling all over Europe, soaking in everything she could about different cuisines and ways of cooking.
Since then, she has lived in New York City and Malibu, where she graduated from The New School of Cooking at the top of her class with a diploma in Culinary Arts.
Her specialty is sophisticated home cooking with a rustic twist. She takes pride in her conscientiousness for sourcing the best possible ingredients, including fresh, organic and local as much as possible. She loves supporting her local farmers.
To her, food is fuel but also nurture and love! She guarantees a beautiful and delicious adventure in every recipe she creates.
