Brenda Steele is a private chef and recipe writer, who specializes in menu development. Well versed in the traditional food practices of pickling, cheese making, salt curing, fermenting, and preserving, Brenda integrates these arts along with wild foraging into her work to make every meal a unique and memorable culinary experience. The many hours, days, and even sometimes weeks it takes to craft the flavors behind a meal appeal to her as much as the actual meal itself. The idea that an evening dish might be enhanced by a trailside wild fennel blossom picked that afternoon or that a single sliver of citrus peel cured for months, deepening each day and mysteriously developing into a wonderfully unexpected flavor, brings Brenda a profound sense of joy and satisfaction.

For me, cooking is...

An extension of my love for travel, and the vibrancy of experiencing far away cultures & flavors

I learned to cook at...

Institute of Culinary Education, NY Natural Gourmet Institute, NY

A cooking secret...

An arsenal of homemade pickles & ferments

My menus

A Treat Of The East

STARTER

All inclusive

FIRST COURSE

All inclusive

Chinese Spring Onion Soup - Wild Mushroom Mushroom Dumpling

King Salmon Sashimi - Mandarin Dashi - Pickle Kumquat

MAIN COURSE

All inclusive

Short Rib Adobo - Pickled Atachara - Japanese Sweet Potato Puree - Shichimi

DESSERT

All inclusive

Yuzu Tart - Coconut Creme - Toasted Meringue

Modern American Seasonal (GF)

STARTER

All inclusive

FIRST COURSE

All inclusive

Cured citrus salmon salad - grilled avocado - baby lettuce - ginger vinaigrette – gf seeded crackers

"a carrot 4 ways" - roasted over fresh ricotta - walnut & carrot top pesto - carrot gastrique - spiced carrot dukkah

MAIN COURSE

All inclusive

Pan seared alaskan halibut - brown butter sweet potato puree - garlicky spinach - basil pistou & creme fraiche

DESSERT

All inclusive

Meyer lemon olive cake - seasonal curd - pistachio tuile

Italian Winter Harvest

STARTER

All inclusive

FIRST COURSE

All inclusive

Fresh scallop - moscato beurre blanc - lovage

Savory wild fennel & chickpea cake – feta cream –olive oil braised fennel & calvastrano olive

MAIN COURSE

All inclusive

Barolo braised beef short rib – creamy roasted garlic risotto – charred seasonal vegetable – horseradish beet dust

DESSERT

All inclusive

Salted caramel & dark chocolate tart – pomegranate – candied rosemary

Show me more

Chef Brenda's reviews

4.94

•

16 services

Chef Brenda Steele was absolutely incredible! She was extremely engaging and accommodating. The dishes she prepared were awesome! Will definitely call her again without doubt.

Chef Brenda was WONDERFUL! We worked on the menu together, she arrived on time and her dish presentation was so beautiful. The food was also delicious. I would book her again in a heartbeat. Thank you Chef Brenda!!!

Brenda was absolutely amazing. Would hire her in a heartbeat.

Chef Brenda was fantastic! She prepared a wonderful multi-course meal for 12 guests.

Brenda was absolutely incredible! The menu she created blew us away from the creativity to the flavor combinations! She was so professional and created such a wonderful experience for us - I can't thank her enough for making the dinner experience so special and beautiful. We will absolutely hire Brenda again when we return to Napa!

Chef Brenda Steele prepared an absolutely AMAZING dinner and experience at our rental home in Napa for my bachelorette party. Every single dish was beautiful and SO wonderful. She is a true artist and is exceptionally talented. She also explained all of the flavors and technique and paired an amazing sake with our meal. We absolutely LOVED chef Brenda and she truly went above and beyond in making our night perfect. I would recommend her 100% and feel blessed to have had her as a part of such an special event. We will never forget it!!