Chef Jesikah Stolaroff brings the feeling of home together with local ingredients and refined technique to create food that fills the heart. She specializes in thoughtful, New American cuisine with a nod toward her family’s Italian roots, joined by unforgettable, innovative desserts.

 

A native of Santa Cruz, Jesikah got her start as a teenager making incredible cakes for birthdays and weddings, before moving north to hone her craft. She studied both the science and the art of food, with degrees in Nutritional Science from UC Berkeley and Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Napa.

 

Jesikah cut her teeth in the Bay Area food scene, catering high-end events for the likes of Google, Pixar, and Mark Zuckerberg, and learning precision, planning, and visual flair. She practiced California Cuisine at Plum, part of the prestigious Daniel Patterson restaurant group, before taking a position as the opening sous chef at Oakland’s Michel Bistro. There, she helped the French-inspired restaurant win the Michelin Bib Gourmand award in its first year (and every year since).

 

But opening a family restaurant has always been Jesikah’s singular dream, and so she returns to Santa Cruz to share her experience and passion with her friends and neighbors by starting Vim.