Emilie Van Dyke
Californios | San Francisco
november 2022
Following her high school graduation, Emilie Van Dyke began her culinary career as a server in Florida. With an interest in cooking, she asked management about working back of house shifts. She was quickly denied—they had never had a woman in their kitchen before. Van Dyke persisted and three years later, she was running the show. Eager to take the next step in her career, Van Dyke decided to relocate to San Francisco, and at twenty-two, she drove across the country to pursue her passion.
In 2016, Van Dyke joined the team at Bar Agricole, stayed on for about a year, then staged around the city, eventually finding her way to Rising Stars alum Chef Val Cantú’s Californios. She had an immediate connection to Cantú’s Mexican fine-dining cuisine, which resonated with her Mexican upbringing and reminded her of her mother’s cooking. After working on the pastry team at Californios for two years, Van Dyke looked to expand her global culinary knowledge. She put in her notice in 2019 to stage across the world, spending time in Thailand and at Fäviken in Norway.
Van Dyke’s time abroad gave her a new perspective. After returning to the United States, she was ready to get back into the kitchen. When Californios reopened in 2021, Van Dyke came back on as sous chef and, within the year, was promoted to chef de cuisine. At Californios, Van Dyke found her culinary voice, presenting classic Mexican dishes such as her Tlacoyo with smoked crème fraîche, salsa macha, and cured nopale. She doesn’t believe in cooking by the book—churning out punchy, light, and dynamic dishes that speak to her Mexican roots.
2022 StarChefs San Francisco-Oakland Rising Stars Award Winner
