OUR TEAM
Charles Namba
Chef/Owner
A childhood spent eating his mom's homemade Japanese cooking combined with years in French kitchens inspired Charles' love of cuisine. In his free time he loves eating simple food, done simply.
Courtney Kaplan
Owner/
Wine + Sake Director
Courtney's career in hospitality began at a yakiniku restaurant in Tokyo many years ago. Although she only intended restaurants to be a stop on the way to "a real job," she got hooked on the energy and excitement of working with a team, the connection to food and farmers, and of course the incredible culture around sake and wine. And here we are.
Her desert island drink would be a light and refreshing honjozo-style sake, or champagne.
Nestor Silva
Executive Sous Chef
One of Nestor’s favorite parts of being a chef is visiting the farmers market weekly with his team. There is something so bonding about walking through the market together, seeing all the produce, smelling it, tasting it and connecting with the farmers that forges a deeper connection to what lands on the menu and plate.
Nestor is half Mexican and half Argentinian, but when it concerns the World Cup, he’s 100% Argentinian.
Kristen Dumandan
General Manager
Expressing love and care through sharing a meal is a big part of Kristen's culture and upbringing. Her mother provided her family with a home cooked meal every day growing up, which taught her how powerful it can be to show love and commitment through actions rather than words. To be able to translate that part of herself in the hospitality space with guests and the people she works with is incredibly rewarding.
Ice cream is her best friend and her worst enemy.
Estevan Silva
Pastry Chef
Estevan rediscovered his love for soft, semi-sweet breads a few years ago. A childhood memory, once filled with sugar, butter and carbs, triggered by his pursuit of the loftiest loaves of them all — shokupan. A journey which has led him to fully embrace the role of sweets in our lives as means to enrich our experience with food. Having worked at restaurants and bakeries in Los Angeles and San Francisco, he has joined the team at Camelia to continue this narrative.
Estevan loves Korean food so much that he is said to cook it like an ajumma.
Josh Wang
Sous Chef
Josh was born in Taiwan but grew up deeply influenced by Japanese culture, which has sparked his enduring fascination with Japan. He's always been intrigued by its traditions and customs. In the future, Josh hopes to have the opportunity to live in Japan for a while to immerse himself further in its rich culture.
Kevin Nguyễn
Bar Lead
Kevin enjoys hospitality so much because he just loves a good system! Restaurants and bars are just a bunch of small microcosms put together to create an organized chaos that’s so multifaceted that is uniquely its own thing.
Kevin is a very adventurous eater - he’ll eat just about anything, but absolutely HATES ketchup.
Cristian Naranjo
Sous Chef
From his abuelito feeding him tacos of queso fresco with honey, to his mom and grandma showing him how to cook their favorite dishes, Cristian's greatest memories are often attached to eating and sharing food/drink with family and loved ones. As simple and mundane cooking might be, there’s nothing more complex and fulfilling for him. Just like there’s over 100 ways to cook an egg, there’s 100 ways to make and show love.
If he can’t laugh, he’ll perish.
Susana Garcia
Service Manager
Susana thanks her mom for inspiring her love for food and restaurants. Coming together for a home cooked meal, or making time to try new restaurants was a staple growing up! It's definitely one of her love languages.
Susana’s favorite genre of movies are horror/slasher films.
Yuneri Nava
Service Manager
Yuneri didn’t realize how much she'd love working with sake until she was introduced to it at OTOTO. Sake has sparked her curiosity to further expand her knowledge. It’s so fun to play with pairings and learn about the art that goes behind it!
Her toxic trait is that she will take you up on a spicy challenge anytime, anywhere.
Anthony Espinoza
Sous Chef
Anthony always knew food brought joy to his life, but he would have never imagined to be making a living off of creating food. Food is the only art form that can be relished by one’s five senses. Food has always been his passion and greatest muse. There is so much life and experiences that goes into creating a dish it’s unfathomable. Truth be told it’s his number one obsession. His second obsession is his son/pug Coco Joey Espinoza!