Chef Santana Caress Benitez is a Food Network 'Chopped' Champion who received her Culinary and Culinary Management diplomas from The Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. After working in different restaurants throughout the city and interning with Tasting Table, Chef Santana decided to branch out on her own as a freelance chef and culinary instructor. In addition to providing private culinary classes, pop-up dining events, and freelance recipe writing, and she continues to focus on food justice related issues and free culinary workshops in and around her community. Chef Santana can also be seen playing Lourdes 'LuLu' Blackmon in the Spike Lee directed series, 'She's Gotta Have It', which is currently on Netflix. 

Chef Santana will prepare a delicious breakfast for us, including crispy honey chicken over basil goat cheese grits, wild mushroom and red pepper ragout over scallion and sour cream drop biscuits, braised eggs with tomato, baby potato, spinach and yogurt, and fresh fruit with toasted coconut, pistachio and rosewater.

Natasha Case is a Los Angeles native and the CEO of Coolhaus, an LA-based ice cream brand. Natasha founded Coolhaus in 2009 with Freya Estreller after she was working in architecture at Walt Disney Imagineering. They launched their architecturally-inspired, unique ice cream sandwich company from their barely driveable postal van at the Coachella Music Festival to an audience of 100,000. They built a loyal following over the festival weekend and returned to LA to an abundance of viral press, a rapidly building social media following, and an eager foodie audience. Since then, Natasha has been named a Forbes 30 under 30 Food & Beverage, Zagat 30 Under 30, Linked in 10 under 35 for Food & Leisure, as well as being featured in many national publications and radio like Cosmo, Dwell, and NPR, and TV shows including Food Network’s Chopped, Barefoot Contessa, Unique Sweets, Good Morning America, King of Cones, Andy Cohen Live and many more. The company has become one of the leading innovative small dessert businesses, growing significantly to include 4 trucks and 2 storefronts in LA, 2 trucks and one cart in NYC, and 4 trucks in Dallas, Texas. Moreover, consumers can now find Coolhaus’ pre-packaged ice cream sandwiches, hand-dipped bars, and hand-packed pints in 6,000+ gourmet grocery stores nationally, including Whole Foods and Gelson's, and larger retailers like Meijer and Safeway, and now internationally in Asia and the Middle East.

Aishwarya Iyer is the CEO and founder of Brightland, a LA-based California extra virgin olive oil company debuting this spring. A graduate of New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study, Aishwarya started her career in L’Oreal’s luxury products division at Lancôme, which sparked her interest in the definition of luxury and passion for building memorable consumer brands. Prior to Brightland, Aishwarya spent nearly a decade in communications and advisory roles within the start-up and technology industries at companies such as ff Venture Capital, SecondMarket and Whisper. The experiences paved the way for her first entrepreneurial opportunity, co-founding Ellephant Partners in 2016, a strategic communications firm specializing in venture-backed technology companies. In 2017, inspired by her personal entrepreneurial vision to bring new energy and change to the American olive oil industry, Aishwarya began conceptualizing and building Brightland, with the mission to craft premium, custom-blended extra virgin olive oil that is nourishing for the body, heart and soul. 

Casey Goch is the founder of Shreebs Coffee, a local coffee company dedicated to direct and organic sourcing that has transformed from a pop-up experience to a full-fledged flagship space coming Spring of 2018. Casey moved to LA over a decade ago to begin her thriving career in entertainment, but truly found home in LA’s budding coffee community. Shreebs was born in 2012 out of her and her husband’s weekly gatherings at home which became widely known as “the secret coffee shop of Venice.” Their initial focus was to create a space where their community could connect over quality coffee which quickly expanded beyond their own friends and family. Shreebs grew into a traveling pop-up experience offering pour overs, iced cold brew, artisanal teas and homemade syrups and their own signature roasted coffee. Casey then built a mobile coffee bar to bring this special experience Shreebs became known for to the likes of Amazon, Vans, and lululemon among others. Their popular pop-ups took place in a variety of unique locations from a Hollywood laundromat to HD Buttercup, finding a more permanent home in a colorful shipping container in the DTLA Arts District. Regardless of space, Shreebs became known for their quality coffees and the hospitality experience that echoed the community space Casey had built in her own backyard in 2012. Casey strives to connect with creatives, support women, build community, and educate people through her love of coffee. Shreebs’ new permanent home will open in Echo Park at 1755 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026. Shreebs beans are also available for purchase.

Daina Trout is the CEO of Health-Ade Kombucha, which she co-founded in 2012 alongside her husband, Justin Trout, and best friend, Vanessa Dew. Daina received her BS from Georgetown University and a Master’s in Nutrition and Public Health from Tufts University, where she honed in on her philosophy that health has everything to do with one’s happiness, not just the science. Health-Ade Kombucha came from the shared desire to do something entrepreneurial while bringing REAL food back to the commercial shelf. There lay the opportunity to turn Daina’s recipe for the best tasting and high-quality Kombucha into something one could buy. Health-Ade got its start brewed in a tiny apartment closet and sold at the local LA Farmers’ Market, and has quickly grown to be a nationally recognized brand that passionately supports the real food movement. Daina’s enthusiasm and drive to make a difference speaks to the importance of the company’s tagline, “Follow Your Gut.” The story of Health-Ade is an ode to the belief that following your gut is integral on one’s journey to happiness and health. When not giving her heart and soul to Health-Ade, Daina can be found spending time with her other baby, Hendriks, while sipping on some Pomegranate Kombucha.

 Natasha, Aishwarya, Casey, and Daina are dedicated to using food to discuss culture, art, and the environment. At breakfast, we'll dive into their experiences and hear their thoughts on the #futureofwomen in food.