Ana Sortun is a native of Seattle, Washington and graduated from La Varenne École de Cuisine de Paris in 1989. She opened her first restaurant, Oleana, in 2001 and was named Best Chef in the Northeast by the James Beard Foundation in 2005. That same year she gave birth to her daughter Siena--for whom her husband's farm is named--and wrote her first cookbook, "Spice: Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean." In 2010, she opened Sofra Bakery and Café with business partner and Pastry Chef Maura Kilpatrick. Several years later, they co-authored "Soframiz: Vibrant Middle Eastern Recipes from Sofra Bakery." In 2013, Sortun partnered with Chef Cassie Piuma to open Sarma, a restaurant modeled after a Turkish meyhane or meze restaurant. Ana is a 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 James Beard Outstanding Chef semi-finalist.