Born and raised in Oakland, California, Miranda hails from a long line of cooks. As a third generation Azorean-American, he grew up experiencing a plethora of cuisines in the culinary mecca that is the Bay Area. “Cooking is simply a part of my family’s history and has continued to be,” he says of his culinary-savvy forefathers, who immigrated to the United States from Portugal in the 1930’s.
Chef Miranda’s first gig was washing dishes for his family’s ice creamery. “It was a very humbling experience,” he tells us, looking back, “it’s harder than you think to get ice cream and hot fudge off 600 plates in one sitting.” His cooking is heavily influenced by the Azorean family recipes he grew up eating in his mother’s and grandmother’s kitchen. Talent and creativity with food has clearly always been a part of their tight-knit culture.
Chef Miranda’s professional experience includes his tenure at San Francisco’s French-American inspired Fifth Floor, and most recently as the Sous Chef at Revival Bar and Kitchen in Berkeley. His go-to mantra in the kitchen? “Strategy will compensate the talent. The talent will never compensate the strategy"
