About
My name is Mariko and I grew up and still live in West Marin in the San Geronimo Valley. Having a father who was an avid hunter, angler and forager shaped much of who I am today. Family weekends were spent camping in the woods by the camp fire and going for walks through the creek. Summers were spent in a small town called Los Barriles in Baja, California where the days were passed by fishing for dorado, marlin and tuna, much of which was brought back home with us to enjoy throughout the rest of the year. Dorado tonkatsu with rice and cabbage slaw cooked by Mom was a mainstay on the Wilkinson family table. The image of paper bags full of chanterelle mushrooms that my father Lee would bring home from foraging stay at the forefront of my childhood memories, along with satchels of wild mussels, beautiful abalone and the countless hours spent meticulously plucking feathers of wild game with my brother and sister.
In 2007 I graduated from culinary school in Portland, Oregon and then moved back to the San Francisco Bay Area. I have worked with various restaurants and catering companies throughout Marin County starting with Insalatas restaurant in San Anselmo, CA and then as the Farm Chef for Hog Island Oyster Co. in Marshall, CA, and the last few years I have been a private chef and freelance caterer. My cuisine follows the seasons and local coastal California bounty, is often Asian influenced and touched with a hint of hand foraged wild ingredients of West Marin.