About Olive Branch
Culinary Services
Bringing peace to mealtime since 2008
ABOUT US
Olive Branch Culinary Services is a San Francisco-based professional chef service company founded in 2008. Our talented personal chefs custom tailor and deliver delicious, chef-prepared weekly meals based on each client’s unique dietary needs and preferences. With no long-term contracts required, we provide the ultimate convenience – handling everything from menu planning and grocery shopping to cooking, packaging, in-home meal delivery, and labeling your meals with easy reheating instructions. Simply reheat our fresh, locally-sourced meals and enjoy more quality family time without the dinner time stress.
We also offer elite private chef experiences for special gatherings and dinner parties in your home. For luxury private jet dining at 40,000+ feet, our sister company Culinary Atelier provides gourmet in-flight catering services for private jets departing Bay Area airports like SFO and OAK.
Meet The Chef and Owner
Jhonathan Rupchand-Kokotek
CHEF/OWNER
Jhonathan Rupchand-Kokotek was born and raised in Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America, and emigrated from Suriname in 2002 to New York City. Growing up, Jhonathan loved cooking alongside his mother and spent many hours learning to make the traditional dishes his family brought with them to their new home. During his teens, he discovered the Food Network and was inspired by chefs like Ina Garten and Bobby Flay to learn and master many unfamiliar techniques.
His love and passion for cooking led him to attend the culinary arts training and externship programs at the innovative City As School High School in New York City. During this program, Jhonathan was able to work at restaurants such as the New York Torch Club, Cafe Boulud, and Ouest restaurant. His longest internship was at Ouest, working under the direct supervision of Tom Valenti. Chef Jhonathan credits Chef Valenti and his staff with teaching him the cooking techniques and managerial skills a chef needs to command a kitchen.
After his professional training, Jhonathan was hired as executive chef at the Montauk Manor Hotel in Montauk, New York. Montauk Pioneer Magazine (2009) cited him, at age 21, as the area’s youngest chef, and his cuisine was also rated favorably in the Southampton Press (2009). Since his early years of working in the restaurant industry, Jhonathan has continued to work in the culinary world. He has led and hosted cooking classes and has provided high end catering, has operated pop-up restaurants in Manhattan. He also provided solutions for new and established restaurants struggling with menu and staff issues.
Jhonathan’s cooking combines French and Italian techniques with West-Indies and international ingredients to create robust flavors in the food he prepares. His current chef icons are Gordon Ramsay, Padma Lakshmi, and José Andrés.
OUR HISTORY
Originally founded in 2008 in New Hampshire, Olive Branch Culinary Services expanded to San Francisco in 2018, offering personalized in-home chef services in the Bay Area.
In April 2020, after over 12 years as the founder and owner, Gabrielle Leone sold Olive Branch Culinary Services in San Francisco to Chef Jhonathan Rupchand-Kokotek Jhonathan, who had demonstrated his talents as both an exceptional personal chef and entrepreneur, making him the ideal new owner to take over the successful business Gabrielle had built since 2008.
With a young family, Gabrielle transitioned ownership to spend more time at home, while ensuring a smooth handoff to Jhonathan. Under his leadership, Olive Branch has grown and continued providing the same high-quality personal chef meal delivery services and private chef experiences that allowed the business to thrive for over a decade.
We also offer elite private chef experiences for special gatherings and dinner parties in your home. For luxury private jet dining at 40,000+ feet, our sister company Culinary Atelier provides gourmet in-flight catering services for private jets departing Bay Area airports like SFO and OAK.