Born in Texas and of Salvadoran heritage, Chef Raul Dominguez has spent more than 20 years working in some of San Francisco’s top restaurants. His passion for food began in La Unión, El Salvador, where he grew up on his grandparents’ coffee farm and spent his early youth climbing fruit trees, exploring the coffee fields and learning to process farm animals, all of which instilled a deep connection to agriculture and the land. An avid surfer and fisherman, Dominguez also has an affinity for the ocean that complements his culinary knowledge. Northern California’s farms and waters inform his culinary philosophy, which focuses on using high-quality local ingredients, and his time in sales at Greenleaf, Northern California’s leading distributor of fine produce and dairy, has allowed him to forge strong relationships with the region’s farmers and chefs.