This January, we welcome Chef Arturo Vargas as our first Guest Chef for Saint John’s Guest Chef Dinner Series!
“Teaching and cooking has been my lifetime commitment and passion from the beginning, in Mexico and beyond. After learning about Saint John’s Program for Real Change, meeting some of the wonderful residents, and touring their beautiful facility, I knew I could make a difference!” shares Chef Vargas
Chef Vargas first learned about Saint John’s Program for Real Change through his dear friend Rhonda. After just a phone call and a visit to see the Program, he was confirmed as the first featured chef for Saint John’s 2018 Guest Chef Dinner Series.
“The clients’ stories brought tears to my eyes, my heart filled with hope for their dreams,” he says.
Dedicated to authentic farm-to-fork cuisine that is healthy, colorful, and flavorful, Chef Vargas leads his catering company, A Taste for the Senses, specializing in authentic Mexican coastal cuisine. Chef Vargas has been cooking and managing the catering company with his wife, Martha, for over ten years.
“Over the years, I have taught some of the most vulnerable communities and youth about nutrition, menu planning, and cooking,” Chef Vargas shares. A native of Acapulco, Mexico, he received his formal training in Mexico, worked in some of San Francisco’s finest restaurants, and conducted healthy cooking classes for University of California, Davis and the American Heart Association. Chef Vargas has appeared as a regular chef on Univision and released his first cookbook in 2014.
After cooking for prominent community members, like California State Senators and the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Chef Vargas is excited to partner with Saint John’s: “It will be my pleasure to share my culinary skills with Saint John’s clients working alongside me in the kitchen, creating special menus for our guests who attend Guest Chef Dinner on January 4, 2018! Cheers!”
Chef Vargas and his wife Martha have become fast friends with many of the folks they met on their first visit to Saint John’s and see lots of opportunities to support the success of the women working at Saint John’s two restaurants, Plates Café and Plates Midtown.
We hope this partnership grows to include education for the women and youth at Saint John’s as Chef Vargas has much to teach us.
Please join us on January 4th, 2018 to enjoy a dinner prepared by Chef Vargas! Click here to purchase tickets.
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