Photo by Jim Sullivan
Short bio
Reem Assil is an award-winning Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, California, working at the intersection of food, community, and social justice. She is the founder of nationally acclaimed Reem’s California, an Arab bakery and restaurant that builds community across cultures through the warmth of bread and hospitality.
Reem is a James Beard Award Finalist for Outstanding Chef (2022) and a two-time Semifinalist for Best Chef: West (2018–2019). Before dedicating herself to a culinary career, she spent over a decade as a community and labor organizer. She is the author of IACP Award–winning cookbook Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora (2022).
Expanded bio
Reem Assil is an award-winning Palestinian-Syrian chef based in Oakland, California, and the founder of Reem’s California, a nationally acclaimed restaurant in San Francisco inspired by Arab street-corner bakeries and the vibrant communities that surround them.
Reem has garnered an array of top accolades in the culinary world, including back-to-back James Beard Award Semifinalist nods for Best Chef: West (2018–2019) and Finalist for Outstanding Chef (2022).
Reem is the author of the IACP Award–winning cookbook Arabiyya: Recipes from the Life of an Arab in Diaspora, a collection of 100+ bright, bold recipes influenced by the vibrant flavors and convivial culture of the Arab world, filled with moving personal essays on food, family, and identity.
Reem made her acting and screenwriting debut in Normal Ain’t Normal, produced by Offside Productions and Rosario Dawson.
Before dedicating herself to a culinary career, Reem spent over a decade as a community and labor organizer, building leadership to fight for living wages, affordable housing, and a voice in jobs and neighborhoods.
Reem sits at the intersection of her three passions: food, community, and social justice. She uses food to invoke the central virtue of Arab culture—hospitality— to build strong, resilient, and connected community.
