Pop Up Guest Chef Dinner featuring Chefs Pam Mazzola and Dana Younkin of Boulevard and Prospect

Chef Pam Mazzola, Prospect and Chef Dana Younkin, Boulevard Pop-up Guest Chef Dinner at Farming Hope's Refettorio San Francisco 

Thursday May 29th, 2025

6:30p-9:00p 

Welcome cocktail, 3-5 courses plus wine

Chef Pam Mazzola, Prospect and Chef Dana Younkin, Boulevard come together for an unforgettable night of incredible food and inspiring community. All proceeds from the evening will support Farming Hope's culinary job training and food justice work.

About Chef Pam Mazzola: 

Pamela Mazzola began her culinary journey in Denver at the Colorado Culinary Institute before making her way to San Francisco, where she refined her skills in some of the city’s most respected kitchens. In 1988, she joined the team at L’Avenue alongside chef Nancy Oakes. The intimate 50-seat neighborhood bistro quickly earned a devoted following for its seasonal, ingredient-driven menu.

Five years later, Mazzola aided Oakes in expanding her vision, helping to open Boulevard, a 145-seat landmark restaurant that went on to become one of San Francisco’s most celebrated dining destinations. The duo worked together for 17 years with Boulevard receiving numerous local and national accolades, including Zagat’s Most Popular Restaurant in the San Francisco Bay Area and the prestigious James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Restaurant in the United States in 2012. 

In 2005, Mazzola co-authored Boulevard: The Cookbook with Oakes, which received nominations from both the James Beard Foundation and the International Association of Culinary Professionals, among other industry recognitions. 

In 2010, Mazzola, Oakes, and Kathy King opened Prospect in San Francisco’s South of Market/Embarcadero neighborhood. As Executive Chef, Mazzola has remained deeply involved in developing and executing Prospect’s menu, ensuring an unwavering commitment to seasonality, sustainability, and sourcing from local farmers, foragers, and purveyors.

Her culinary philosophy has been further enriched by extensive travels throughout Europe and Asia, inspiring her approach to ingredients and technique. Beyond the kitchen, Mazzola is dedicated to giving back to the community, lending her time and talent to numerous charitable organizations across the Bay Area.

About Chef Dana Younkin:

Chef Younkin hails from St. Paul, Minnesota, where her culinary journey began when she was fifteen years old assisting her mother at local bakery A Toast to Bread and further continued at their family-owned café, Swede Hollow. After completing a degree in Anthropology, she moved to San Francisco to attend the California Culinary Academy. Younkin worked and staged in some of the city’s top kitchens before joining Boulevard in 2006.

Younkin says that developing and cooking side by side with Chef Nancy Oakes for the last 15 years has been an invaluable experience. “Nancy has always pushed me to think of different ways of seeing food and flavor combinations, while always staying anchored in a context, whether that is seasonal or regional. We are always bouncing ideas off of one another.  Our collaborative effort results in a more interesting and delicious experience."  Younkin credits Oakes with giving her an advanced, hands-on understanding of regional Italian and French cuisine, which she uses daily at Boulevard. Younkin and Oakes have also travelled extensively together learning about food and culture in Italy, London, Orcas Island, New York City and Los Angeles, to name a few.

About Farming Hope:

Farming Hope is a culinary job training and food justice nonprofit. We provide paid transitional job training to individuals overcoming obstacles to employment, offer nutritious culturally relevant meals free of charge to food-insecure families, and rescue food that would otherwise go to waste.

The Guest Chef Series at Farming Hope's Refettorio celebrates local chefs who share our core values of inclusivity in the workplace, food access, and sustainability. Our job-trainee Apprentices have the incredible opportunity to work, learn, and grow alongside some of the best chefs in country. By purchasing a ticket to this event, you directly contribute to the dreams of our Apprentices' economic empowerment.

For those who are interested in group tables, event sponsorships, or have any questions, please contact us at giving@farminghope.org. We are happy to assist you and provide further information about this exciting event.

Make sure to mark your calendars for Thursday, May 29th,  and join us at Farming Hope for an unforgettable evening of exceptional cuisine, lively conversations, and a shared commitment to creating positive change within our community.

The ticket price includes a fair-market-vale cost plus $175 tax-deductible donation to Farming Hope, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, EIN: 83-2393341.