BIO
Hi!
My name is Andy Hiller and I’m a private chef, culinary instructor, and wine enthusiast based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I grew up with strong ties to agriculture as a Northern California native, with many of my meals coming right from my own backyard. Leaving rural Humboldt County in 2007 to study Political Science at Stanford University greatly expanded my culinary landscape, and I quickly found myself as the de facto cook/bartender/grillmaster for tailgates and other campus gatherings.
My passion for food further flourished after graduating and beginning a career in digital marketing, which provided me the means to experience even more of the Bay Area’s varied cuisines. In late 2014, my passion for food grew too strong and I left Silicon Valley to pursue a formal culinary education. I enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at Le Cordon Bleu in San Francisco and graduated in early 2016. I supplemented my coursework by competing in a number of cooking competitions and interning at a test kitchen facility.
Once I had earned my degree from Le Cordon Bleu, I moved to Ahmedabad, India to open Tahini, a fast casual Mediterranean restaurant with two partners from Stanford. After months spent learning the local culinary landscape, I opened the first outlet in April of 2016 to rave reviews and press coverage. Once the restaurant was operational, I returned to California to further develop my culinary career through teaching. I began working as a Chef Instructor, and later the Resident Chef managing the culinary program for Sur La Table in Palo Alto and Santa Clara.
My culinary journey took a quick detour into the wine industry, where I worked as the Operations Manager at Artisan Wine & Spirits. After furthering my knowledge of beverage service, wine and food pairing, I'm back to my true calling - working as a full-time personal chef. When I'm not cooking or wine tasting, I maintain an organic garden, dine out at new local restaurants as often as possible, and enjoy hiking, biking, kayaking, etc. through California's natural splendor.
If you’re interested in reaching me or finding out more about my brand of cooking, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you!