Rasika Venkatesa

HOMETOWN: Chennai, India
CURRENT CITY OF RESIDENCE: New York
OCCUPATION/PROFESSION: Chef De Cuisine

Chef Rasika Venkatesa's fondest memories are growing up in Chennai, India and cooking with her biggest inspiration, her grandmother. She earned her bachelor’s degree in hotel management from Manipal University in India and moved to the United States to work at Thomas Keller’s three-star Michelin restaurant, the French Laundry. In 2019, Rasika joined the team at Mourad in San Francisco, a one-star Michelin New Moroccan restaurant. She started as a station cook and worked her way up to Chef de Cuisine under the guidance of world-renowned Chef Mourad Lahlou. In 2022, she won StarChefs’ Rising Star Award in the San Francisco/Oakland area, collaborated with chefs nationwide in various culinary events. Chef Rasika is now focused on her concept, which aims to reinvent Tamil cuisine. She’s currently traveling across Tamil Nadu to learn from the local communities to grow and evolve as a chef in the next chapter of her culinary journey.