Joan Ellis and her husband, Patrick Hooker, together have over fifteen years experience cooking and baking in the bay area. The two were owners of Pani-e-Dolci bakery in San Francisco for over seven years.

  After starting a family, Joan and Patrick moved to Berkeley with their son August. Patrick took a job as a private chef and Joan felt lucky to be able to stay at home with August for his first two years.

  AUBERGINE catering was started in May of 2003, after Joan had given a friend turning forty, a month of meals delivered to her home. The friend wanted to know how she could continue this service, and a business was born.

AUBERGINE uses only high-quality ingredients and organic whenever possible. We support sustainable farming and will only serve meats that are raised humanely and without antibiotics. We also restrict our choice of fish to wild- or troll- caught and non-endangered species.

"Creating seasonal and down-to-earth meals for people who want to eat well but don't want to go to a restaurant every night is a very exciting challenge."