Our Team
“In cooking, as in all arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection” – Richard Olney
Arnon Oren
Chef/Owner
Bio
Anaviv is led by Chef Arnon Oren, who was born in Israel and classically trained in Lyon, France. Fortunate to grow up surrounded by an abundance of fruit trees, a goat for milk and cheese, honey bees, and olive trees for cured olives and olive oil, his first tastes were of pure foods and fresh flavors. Chef Arnon emulates those wondrous experiences with every dish he creates.
Building on many years of experience in San Francisco Bay Area restaurants, including at the iconic Chez Panisse, Oliveto Cafe & Restaurant, and as the Executive Chef at Café Cacao for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker. In 2015, Chef Arnon decided to focus on creating memorable culinary experiences for the community and sold his specialty nut business to Nuthouse! Granola Co. Today, Chef Arnon leads Anaviv and is deeply engaged in the local community. He sits on the Advisory Board for the Contra Costa College Culinary Academy and is a Commissioner on the Richmond Economic Development Committee. Six years ago, Chef Arnon co-founded Plant to Plate, an internship program empowering and mentoring kids in Richmond through organic gardening and culinary arts.
“With each experience, I have gained wisdom about cooking and the honor of bringing food to someone’s table.”
Tonya Brown
Sales & Event Production Manager
Bio
Tonya joins us as Anaviv’s Sales and Event Production Manager. A big believer in happily-ever-after whether it be for your big day or a very special event, Tonya takes great joy in learning peoples’ stories and seeing them through. Having been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years, she knows the importance of connecting with people and paying attention to details. Working in Orange County, Napa Valley, Sacramento, and now the Bay Area has opened her up to a plethora of experiences, and she constantly strives to top her last event. She truly loves what she does, which shows beautifully in her work, and wouldn’t change it for the world.
Felice Faison
Floral Designer
Bio
Felice, Anaviv’s Floral Designer, credits her inspiration in part, to her father, who was a pioneer in the recycled and salvaged wood industry in California. “His ability to create something stunning from things that most people would throw away taught me the value of a different perspective.”
Her attraction to floral design started as a young child watching and helping her older twin sisters, both florists, take unusual and unique foliage and flowers, and create incredible designs. Felice went on to study fashion design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and later left New York home bound for the Wild West Coast, where she now lives with Ian, her husband and their dog Linus. “I take inspiration from seasonally changing colors, textures, plant life, and foliage near my home in Marin County. I have a deep love and passion for all things wild and different, and I love to apply that in my designs.”
Darren Lee
Catering Chef
Marisela Tobar
Office Manager
Kelli Baram
Director, Plant to Plate Program
Bio
Kelli’s passion for organic gardening and homestead farming is rooted in her concern for environmental justice and physical and mental wellness. She is a Master Gardener, focusing on urban farming, and has worked as a garden educator for more than 10 years.
In addition to her work with Plant to Plate, she is the Garden Educator at Saint Mary’s College of California. She holds a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and worked in many different contexts as a mental health professional before pursuing her education and experience in growing food organically. Cultivating and tending to the earth brought Kelli’s two passions for wellness and environmental justice together. It is from this foundation that she coordinates and leads the Plant to Plate Internship Program.
Siyoon Kim
Pastry Chef
Alex Eaton
Event Chef
Oscar Pedro
Event Cook
Carlos Alvizures
Event Cook
Cordelia Iwawaki
Event Cook
Interested in joining the team?
