La Cocina Are the People Keeping San Francisco Delicious | Bon Appétit
"“Before La Cocina, I was hustling,” says Reem Assil. After a trip to her father’s native Syria, she returned hoping to start a Syrian food truck, maybe a bakery. “I was trying to manifest it but I was working like five jobs.” Then she joined La Cocina. “I had an aha moment working in the kitchen with all these women,” she says of her early days in the incubator. Observing how the larger businesses were able to employ and therefore help more people from their own communities, Assil began to think beyond food trucks, with the La Cocina team helping to guide the way. Today, the James Beard–nominated chef owns two critically-acclaimed Oakland restaurants inspired by her heritage:Reem’sandDyafa. She employs more than 50 people. “I think about my life sometimes and I’m like, how did that happen? I don’t even remember,” she says. “For so many years I felt the impacts of racism against my community. Now I educate through food.”" - ByHilary Cadigan
