Rick Hackett - Executive Chef
A native of Michigan, Rick Hackett graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and learned the principles of nouvelle cuisine at Yannick Cam's acclaimed Washington D.C. restaurant Le Pavillon before moving to the Bay Area himself in 1979. There he became part of the American culinary revolution, working at such establishments as Chez Panisse, Bay Wolf, Oliveto, Postrio, and Acme Bread. In 1992, Hackett and his wife, Meredith Melville, reopened the fabled Enrico's in North Beach as a supper club featuring live music and California–Mediterranean cuisine. More recently the Executive Chef at the popular MarketBar in San Francisco's Ferry Building, Hackett has now created the perfect showcase for his innovative Pan-American cuisine, combining flavors and techniques from North, Central, and South America with Mediterranean traditions. Download Full Bio (PDF)
Meredith Melville - Owner
Getting her first inside knowledge of the restaurant business as a server at Chez Panisse and Bay Wolf—where she met her future husband, Rick Hackett. Melville and Hackett went on to open the revivified North Beach landmark Enrico's. There, and at two other restaurants the couple subsequently launched, she developed a philosophy of service based on understanding and meeting the diner's wants and needs. "The most important thing we can do as restaurateurs," she says, "is to make each guest's overall experience a comfortable and memorable one." Download Full Bio (PDF)
Ross Kaplan - Chef de Cuisine
Ross Kaplan found his way from his home state of Maryland to the kitchen at one of Manhattan's best and most popular restaurants, Union Square Café, where he worked under James Beard Foundation "Best Chef in New York City" Michael Romano. Gravitating to the gastronomic hotbed of Berkeley, he went to work at Café Cacao, a small café attached to the Sharffen Berger Chocolate factory in Berkeley. From there, he joined Rick Hackett at MarketBar in San Francisco. When Hackett was ready to launch Bocanova, Kaplan was his first choice as chef-de-cuisine. Together and separately, Hackett and Kaplan will research and come up with menu ideas, create recipes, and work to constantly improve current dishes. Download Full Bio (PDF)
Paul Conte - Executive Pastry Chef
It's not uncommon for pastry chefs to move to the savory side of the kitchen (sometimes to great effect: think Michel Guérard and Michel Richard). Bocanova pastry master Paul Conte reversed the process: A graduate of the Culinary Arts program at the esteemed Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, Conte got his first restaurant experience cooking under Tom Colicchio at Mondrian in New York City. From there, he moved to the kitchen of the Plaza Hotel, where chef Kerry Simon recognized his latent talent as a pastry chef and encouraged him in that direction, moving him to the pastry station. Stints at restaurant legend Joe Baum's Aurora and the original China Grill, in Manhattan's CBS Building, followed. At the same time, Conte was developing his artistic talents through music, photography, and even a stint of painting animation cells with Broadcast Arts. Download Full Bio (PDF)
Mauricio Mora-Bonilla - General Manager
A native of Costa Rica, with two degrees in restaurant management from universities in his home country and another from the California Culinary Academy, Mora-Bonilla knows Latin American food literally from the ground up: “As a young boy in Costa Rica," he recalls, "I grew up picking coffee beans on the family farm, shimmying up trees to grab plantains in our backyard, and pulling yucas out of the earth. These flavors are a part of me."Download Full Bio (PDF)
A native of Michigan, Rick Hackett graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and learned the principles of nouvelle cuisine at Yannick Cam's acclaimed Washington D.C. restaurant Le Pavillon before moving to the Bay Area himself in 1979. There he became part of the American culinary revolution, working at such establishments as Chez Panisse, Bay Wolf, Oliveto, Postrio, and Acme Bread. In 1992, Hackett and his wife, Meredith Melville, reopened the fabled Enrico's in North Beach as a supper club featuring live music and California–Mediterranean cuisine. More recently the Executive Chef at the popular MarketBar in San Francisco's Ferry Building, Hackett has now created the perfect showcase for his innovative Pan-American cuisine, combining flavors and techniques from North, Central, and South America with Mediterranean traditions. Download Full Bio (PDF)
Meredith Melville - Owner
Getting her first inside knowledge of the restaurant business as a server at Chez Panisse and Bay Wolf—where she met her future husband, Rick Hackett. Melville and Hackett went on to open the revivified North Beach landmark Enrico's. There, and at two other restaurants the couple subsequently launched, she developed a philosophy of service based on understanding and meeting the diner's wants and needs. "The most important thing we can do as restaurateurs," she says, "is to make each guest's overall experience a comfortable and memorable one." Download Full Bio (PDF)
Ross Kaplan - Chef de Cuisine
Ross Kaplan found his way from his home state of Maryland to the kitchen at one of Manhattan's best and most popular restaurants, Union Square Café, where he worked under James Beard Foundation "Best Chef in New York City" Michael Romano. Gravitating to the gastronomic hotbed of Berkeley, he went to work at Café Cacao, a small café attached to the Sharffen Berger Chocolate factory in Berkeley. From there, he joined Rick Hackett at MarketBar in San Francisco. When Hackett was ready to launch Bocanova, Kaplan was his first choice as chef-de-cuisine. Together and separately, Hackett and Kaplan will research and come up with menu ideas, create recipes, and work to constantly improve current dishes. Download Full Bio (PDF)
Paul Conte - Executive Pastry Chef
It's not uncommon for pastry chefs to move to the savory side of the kitchen (sometimes to great effect: think Michel Guérard and Michel Richard). Bocanova pastry master Paul Conte reversed the process: A graduate of the Culinary Arts program at the esteemed Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, Conte got his first restaurant experience cooking under Tom Colicchio at Mondrian in New York City. From there, he moved to the kitchen of the Plaza Hotel, where chef Kerry Simon recognized his latent talent as a pastry chef and encouraged him in that direction, moving him to the pastry station. Stints at restaurant legend Joe Baum's Aurora and the original China Grill, in Manhattan's CBS Building, followed. At the same time, Conte was developing his artistic talents through music, photography, and even a stint of painting animation cells with Broadcast Arts. Download Full Bio (PDF)
Mauricio Mora-Bonilla - General Manager
A native of Costa Rica, with two degrees in restaurant management from universities in his home country and another from the California Culinary Academy, Mora-Bonilla knows Latin American food literally from the ground up: “As a young boy in Costa Rica," he recalls, "I grew up picking coffee beans on the family farm, shimmying up trees to grab plantains in our backyard, and pulling yucas out of the earth. These flavors are a part of me."Download Full Bio (PDF)
