Caleb Zigas

Caleb Zigas, Executive Director at La Cocina

Caleb Zigas is the Executive Director of La Cocina, a non-profit food business incubator in San Francisco that helps low-income food entrepreneurs, primarily women of color and immigrants, launch and grow their businesses.12 He has been with the organization since it opened in 2005 and has played a key role in shaping it into a nationally recognized program.2

Some key facts about Caleb Zigas:

• He was accidentally hired as an assistant pastry chef at age 16 and has worked in the food industry ever since, including as a waiter at some of the best and worst restaurants in the country.1
• He has degrees in English and Globalization and Culture from the University of Michigan and interned with ProMujer in Bolivia before joining La Cocina.1
• His work on La Cocina's program curriculum and social entrepreneurship innovation has been celebrated by the Hitachi Foundation and Inc. Magazine.1
• He was behind La Cocina's San Francisco Street Food Festival and Conference which led to increased mobile vending opportunities in San Francisco.1
• He was named one of San Francisco's Tastemakers by 7x7 Magazine and Best Waiter in San Francisco.1
• He is bilingual in English and Spanish, a trained diversity leader, HACCP Certified and a California Food Safety Manager.1
• In 2020, he received the James Beard Foundation Leadership Award for his efforts in shepherding La Cocina and its entrepreneurs.23

Caleb's favorite foods include chicken soup, steamed pork buns, molletes, and anything with miso.1 He is passionate about using food as a tool for economic and racial justice.2

In January 2021, Caleb agreed to stay on as Executive Director past his planned departure in 2020 to help La Cocina's entrepreneurs weather the pandemic.2 As of June 2023, Leticia Landa has been promoted to succeed Caleb as Executive Director.4