Running a restaurant in San Francisco is harder than ever. Inflation is driving up ingredient costs, labor, and rent. Tastes are fickle, dining habits have changed drastically since the pandemic, and competition is fierce. What is the chef’s role in driving the commercial success of a restaurant? How do chefs balance their primary goal of cooking great food with the operational grind of managing staffing, sourcing, accounting, and marketing? How do operations and the culinary sides of the business interact and intersect?
At Chat Room: Food, Gazetteer SF city reporter Eddie Kim will tackle these questions with leaders currently running some of the most popular spots in town.
Panelists:
Amanda Flores is the Senior Director of Operations for Flour + Water Hospitality Group, where she’s spent years shaping standout employee culture and guest experience. Her passion for supporting hospitality professionals inspired her to launch the Bay Area Restaurant Collective—a nonprofit and network of hospitality professionals committed to driving positive impact and evolution within the region’s restaurant community, through panels, training, and DEI focused events.
Intu-on Kornnawong is the executive chef at swanky Japanese cafe and restaurant Shoji in downtown San Francisco. Previously she has worked in the kitchens of such notable restaurants as Jojo’s Modern Thai in Oakland; Kin Khao in San Francisco; and Night + Market and Rustic Canyon in Los Angeles. Raised in the small town of Udon Thani in the northeastern Thai region of Isaan, Intu-on moved to San Francisco and cut her teeth with iconic Thai restaurants including Marnee Thai with Chef Chai Siriyan and at Kitchen Story with Chef Kasem (now the owner at Farmhouse Thai.) After graduating from culinary school, she was mentored by Chef Rachel Silcock at the Michelin-starred restaurant, The Range, and then at the Outerlands, working with Chef Yoni Levy, continually refining her knowledge of Californian and French cuisines.
Reem Assil is an award-winning Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, CA, working at the intersection of food, community, and social justice. She is the founder of nationally-acclaimed Reem’s California, an Arab bakery and restaurant that builds community across cultures and experiences through the warmth of Arab bread and hospitality. Reem has garnered an array of top accolades in the culinary world, including James Beard finalist for Outstanding Chef (2022) back to back semifinalist for Best Chef: West (2018-19). Before dedicating herself to a culinary career, Reem spent over a decade as a community and labor organizer building the leadership and amplifying the voices of marginalized communities in their jobs and their neighborhoods. Reem is the author of IACP award-winning cookbook Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora (2022).
Chat Room: Food
June 18, 2026
Swedish American Hall
2174 Market St.
Doors: 6 p.m.
Show: 6:30 p.m.
Entry includes free flow beer and wine from 6:00-9:30 p.m. This event is 21+.
Food will be available for purchase from pop ups.All Chat Room events are free for Gazetteer SF paid subscribers but space is limited. Subscribers may write to chelly@gazetteer.co to receive your free ticket code. Non-subscribers may purchase tickets here for $30 + fees.
