was founded by three enthusiasts in Spring 2011, about whom you can read below. For information on catering, our cooking classes, our family dinners, or simply how to contact us, continue to make yourself at home here on the website.
Olaiya Land is a chef, cooking class instructor, and all-around feeder of hungry folks. She grew up in the Midwest where she spent many lazy afternoons in her grandmother’s kitchen soaking up her vast culinary knowledge and sneaking as many tastes as possible.
Olaiya majored in French and art history at Yale University. As part of her studies she spent a year in Paris where her interest in food and cooking blossomed as she wandered the city’s back streets in search of Paris’ best markets, cafes, bistros and bakeries.
After graduating, Olaiya returned to Europe to study, travel, eat and cook. She moved to Brussels and honed her skills working for a local catering company before returning to the US to start her own catering business. Since moving to Seattle in 2006, she has cooked at La Medusa and The Boat Street Kitchen, both of which believe in letting fresh, seasonal, local ingredients stand out in their cooking. In 2010 she organized a popular series of cooking classes at Delancey, where she encouraged people to get their hands dirty, and this growing roster of students now has a permanent home at The Pantry. As for Brandon Pettit…