A rising star in the culinary world, John Cleveland is head chef and owner of the casual fine-dining restaurant Post & Beam. Along with his wife Roni, Chef Cleveland took the reins of this 11-year-old restaurant in 2019 with the goal of continuing its legacy as one of South Los Angeles’ most revered, awardwinning, Black-owned restaurants. During Chef Cleveland’s tenure, Post & Beam has been included in the Los Angeles Times’ Top 101 Restaurants every year.

Born in Oakland, California, raised in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and reared by parents from a small town in Ohio, Chef Cleveland draws his influences from Southern soul food, Carolina BBQ, coastal seafood as well as Neapolitan cuisine, culminating into what he’s coined as “California comfort food.”

Chef Mindy Oh has been the backbone of the Emerging Chef Program at Abernethy’s. She has worked closely with the restaurant’s last four Emerging Chefs, leading the execution of their menus and adding her expertise to ensure that Abernethy’s guests have the best possible experience each time they visit.

A native Angeleno, Chef Mindy was raised in the Koreatown area of Los Angeles and had a very close relationship with her family, especially with her grandparents. As a child, she learned traditional Korean dancing and grew up enjoying Korean food.

Chef Mindy began her culinary career studying at Le Cordon Bleu. While attending culinary school, she fine-tuned her skills working at Patina Catering. Before becoming chef de cuisine at Abernethy’s, she worked as a sous chef for Superba Food and Bread and was the opening executive chef for Mora.

For a special limited engagement, Abernethy’s will feature Chef Mindy’s Korean American cuisine, which she created in honor her grandparents and her Los Angeles roots. Korean food is about each element balancing each other, and that balance is what Chef Mindy constantly strives for in her cooking.

Brad Willits is an accomplished executive chef with over 20 years of experience in the culinary industry. He currently serves as the executive chef at Market Venice, a modern Italian restaurant located in the heart of Venice Beach, CA. Prior to this, he was a chef at Joint Venture, which owns Jon & Vinny’s and Son of a Gun.

Prior to cooking in Los Angeles, Willits worked in his hometown of Vero Beach, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; and Baltimore, Maryland along with his longest stint in New York City.

Raised by a single mother in Hawthorne, CA, Chef Lenora Marouani came to appreciate the art of simple cooking. With motivation from her mother and a particularly inspiring home economics class, Chef Lenora headed to culinary school at Los Angeles Trade Technical College, where she graduated with a degree in Culinary Arts.

After working in various restaurants and hotels around Los Angeles, including the Ritz Carlton, Chef Lenora made the trek to Las Vegas to enhance her career. While hunting down produce for a dinner service, Chef Lenora met her now husband Adnen Marouani.

Chef Lenora featured a Tunisian Soul menu during her time as an emerging chef-in-residence at Abernethy’s, which was inspired by the strong women in her life, including her Tunisian mother-in-law, who is a highly talented cook and strong woman.

Following her residency at Abernethy’s, Chef Lenora has returned to her restaurant and wine bar, Barsha, where she serves as chef de cuisine and co-owner.

Chef Geter Atienza’s prolific career began under Chef Ray Garcia at The Fig Restaurant at the Fairmont Hotel in Los Angeles. Chef Geter’s culinary background includes his work in Las Vegas at Chef Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro, in New York City at Bouchon Bakery and Café as part of the culinary management team, and with Chef Shaun Hergatt of SHO Restaurant as sous chef, which earned two Michelin Stars. Chef Geter opened BS Taqueria and Broken Spanish as the chef de cuisine under Chef Ray Garcia.

During his residency at Abernethy’s, Chef Geter featured a modern Filipino menu inspired by his birthplace, family, culture, and upbringing in both the Philippines and California.

Chef Geter currently serves as the executive chef for Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, overseeing the food program at all three of the restaurant’s locations.

Chef Ryan Costanza was born into a family that lives and breathes food. He began working in his family’s restaurant at age 13, and by age 18, he was staging in some of New York’s most elevated kitchens. After working his way up in a number of New York-based restaurants, Chef Ryan left the United States to learn about non-American flavors and techniques in Japan and Korea.

Upon his return to the U.S., Chef Ryan filled executive chef roles at highly acclaimed Southern California restaurants, including Post & Beam, Willie Jane, Freedman’s and Greekman’s, and Dija Mara.

As an emerging chef-in-residence at Abernethy’s, Chef Ryan served a Mediterranean island menu inspired by his grandparents and Sicilian heritage.

Chef Ryan is currently the co-founder of Pure Land Sake, CEO of The Wise Visitor Consulting and Management Company, and executive chef of Nashville restaurant Present Tense.

After getting his start in restaurants and dining clubs in Ohio, Chef Jason Fullilove moved to New York City to study at the Culinary Institute of America. His varied experience includes stints as executive sous chef for BR Guest Hospitality’s Isabella’s and Ocean Grill in New York City; chef de cuisine at the five-star Ritz Carlton in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; opening chef for The Gorbals, the Downtown Los Angeles restaurant opened in 2009 by Top Chef winner Ilan Hall; executive chef for Mark Peel at Campanile/Tar Pit; owner of Los Angeles restaurant Barbara Jean; as well as executive chef for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), part of the Michelin-starred Patina Restaurant Group.

While he was the featured emerging chef-in-residence, Chef Jason created and served a comforting Soul food menu inspired by his upbringing and family.

Chef Jason is most recently the owner of Restaurant Consulting Company, Allium Group, and specialty hot sauce company Tumie Coco; he is also the principal of Catering Company Jason George Events.

Born and raised in Beijing, China, Chef Shirley Chung was introduced to international cuisine at an early age by her grandmother, Liang Si Yi, who was formerly the director of the Red Cross in China. Chef Shirley immigrated to America at age 17 to attend college and worked in the technology industry in Silicon Valley for a few years after graduating. She decided to follow her passion for food, so she left her high-tech career behind and enrolled in the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Chef Shirley is trained in classic French and Italian cuisine; she worked and opened restaurants for Thomas Keller, Guy Savoy, and Mario Batali.

As Abernethy’s inaugural emerging chef-in-residence and now a member of Abernethy’s Culinary Advisory Committee, Chef Shirley introduced a modern Chinese menu to Abernethy’s guests.

Chef Shirley owns and operates Ms. Chi Café in Culver City, CA. She has been featured on Top Chef and Guy’s Grocery Games and recently published her first cookbook, Chinese Heritage Cooking from My American Kitchen.