MEET THE TEAM

meet the chef
At Secret Garden, we take pride in collaborating with a diverse group of highly skilled professionals. Our goal is to match you with the ideal team that can cater to all your needs. Whether you require private chefs, bartenders, servers, decorators, entertainment, or security, we prioritize working with only the best in the industry—those who are truly passionate about hospitality. It’s all about delivering exceptional service with a smile. Explore some of our top recommendations from across the country this month, or contact us today to assemble your dream team!
vanessa

VANESSA LAUREN

OWNER AND EVENT DIRECTOR
With over 20 years of hospitality experience Vanessa Lauren has worked every position starting as a hostess and working her way up to Executive Chef. Using her expertise in providing exceptional customer service to ensure your experience is a wonderful one. Vanessa has worked with several top LA chefs, including Ludo Lefebvre, Curtis Stone, Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo, Tim Carrey, Ben Ford, and Marcel Vigneron. She’s also managed events of all sizes including venues such as Sundance Film Festival, Coachella, Food & Wine Festival, Dinner Lab, James Beard House, and Summit at Sea.
Vanessa and the Secret Garden team are motivated by a social responsibility to help improve the symbiotic relationship between Mother Earth and our ever-changing modern world. When you attend a Secret Garden experience, you’re not only participating in an event that you and other guests will be thrilled to experience; you’re engaging in sustainable practice and eco-friendly dining. You’re raising the bar in how we grow, cook, dine, and share meals together.

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Chef Clay

Working at some of LAs top Kitchens Chef Clay got his experience working with talented chefs like Award winner of Food and Wines Best New Chef Ori Menashe and his James Beard Award recognized restaurant Bestia, and also with Michelin Level chefs- Josef Centeno at Orsa and Winston and with 2 star Michelin Chef Jordan Kahn at Vespertine. After gaining his Michelin level training. Chef Clay became the executive chef of much celebrated restaurant Ill Fiora specializing in high end farm to table fare. He currently is taking a break from the restaurant grind to enjoy working in private homes and events using his unique skill set to really wow his guests in the greater Los Angles area.

Chef Cindy

Chef Cindy is a self-made Chef and Event Planner from Toronto, ON, Canada. Over her 15 years of culinary experience she loves to share her culinary and spiritual journey through her cuisine. She is known throughout Toronto for her bright and vivid event design and couture boutique catering, even voted TOP 10 Best! Chef Cindy first got her start staging for Master Chef Alvin Leung’s 3-Michelin star restaurant in Hong Kong. There she was discovered for many cooking competition shows including Firemasters on Food Network. Since then she has been best known for her creative food art installations and pop-up supper clubs, where she explores unique combinations and modern flavors. Now Chef Cindy has been traveling the globe working private high end events and staying busy managing her catering, content and lifestyle brands.

Chef Daniel

Chef Daniel, started his passion for cooking in his home town of Ukraine where he learned from his mother traditional recipes- but he was always drawn to the bold flavors of international cuisine, which really led him on his culinary journey. Starting in Moscow he studied at Novikov Culinary Academy. From there he got an opportunity to come to the states to start his restaurant career where he staged with 3 star Michelin chef Jean George. Drawing from his global experiences and passion for bringing unique flavors together, he was able to get showcase his skills in restaurants like RIO Wine Bar in Brooklyn. Since then Chef Daniel has started his own events company doing private dinners along with social media projects where he was discovered Wall Street Caviar He is now hosting high end caviar tasting dinners in Manhattan and private parties in NYC.

Chef Luis

Chef Luis´s passion for cooking international cuisine began with his travel filled childhood. Born in Peru, he was introduced to traditional family recipes that was only rediscovered when he moved to Spain as a teenager. Naturally drawn to hospitality, Chef´s career started on the beautiful island of Majorca, in Balearic Islands, where he gained a diverse knowledge and experience. Working in places such as Indigo Star Private Yacht and March Fosh’s Michelin starred Simply Fosh. After he moved to London working for celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, in his very first restaurant FIFTEEN, and NOPI, part of the world-famous Ottolenghi group. Then life brought Chef Luis to San Francisco where he worked at the Bay Area institution, Boulevard. Now he is currently showcasing his passion for farm to table preparations with a global twist in private events all over the Bay Area.

Chef Josh

Chef Josh always loved to cook which motivated him to start his career at the early age of 21. He got his foot in the door working events with many of LAs top award winning chefs including; Alan Jackson, Chris Michaels, Jon & Vinny, Eric Greenspan, Susan Feniger, and Simon Majumdar. Since then Chef Josh has started working as a private chef- cooking for big names like Queen Latifah, Kendrick Lamar, and John Mayer which led to multiple stints with “Dead & Co”. Today you can find Chef Josh in Los Angeles doing his own private events and managing The Chained Rabbit craft gastro pub, where he is using bold flavors and refined techniques to make comfort food favorites. Recently named one of Yelps top places to eat!

Chef Ono

Born in Colombia into Japanese/Colombian household, Chef Will Ono was exposed to various foods at an early age, sparking his interest for quality and tradition. He began his culinary career over a decade ago in Palm Beach, FL as Chef De Partie at Cafe Boulud after attending Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School. Inspired to become better, Chef Ono struck off to learn from some of the best chefs and restaurants in the world, such as Azurmendi (3 Michelin stars) in Basque Country, Spain, Noma & Relae (The World’s 50 best Restaurant list) in Copenhagen, Denmark, The Mark Restaurant by Jean- Georges (New York, NY) and The Clocktower by Jason Atherton (1 Michelin star). Currently you can find Chef Ono in New York hosting private dinner events using his flair for Japanese fusion.

Jameca Lyttle

MIXOLOGIST
Jameca Lyttle is an entrepreneur, mixologist, and founder of Capricious Cocktails. Jameca combines her love of travel with her hospitality background to bring you a memorable experience of beverages inspired by cocktails the world over, one sip at a time. In Jameca’s own words, “Our cocktails are a reflection of my love for spirits and places throughout my travels. Capricious Cocktails is a testament to the friendships formed, and recipes and tricks shared from various corners of the world.”

Ryan Tanaka

PHOTOGRAPHER
Ryan Tanaka is a commercial brand photographer based in Los Angeles. He has won numerous awards for his photographs in industries including food, architecture, and hospitality. Ryan got his first camera at age nine, and has loved the medium ever since. In his free time he enjoys photographing craftspeople and their passions. He currently resides in West Los Angeles with his two cats, Molly May and Bettie Lou.
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