Yesenia Castañon
JouJou and Lazy Bear | San Francisco, CA
September 2026
Yesenia Castañon has been cooking with her mom for as long as she can remember—during celebrations, hardships, and everything in between. In college, she decided to switch gears and enroll in the California Culinary Academy in 2010. After a few years of baking post-graduation, Castañon stepped into fine dining for the first time with a stage at Gary Danko in San Francisco, working long hours and learning how to properly quenelle and make ice creams and meringues from Chef Gary Danko. She stayed at the restaurant for almost five years before joining the opening team of Birdsong. There, she worked as a pastry assistant under Pastry Chef Harry Flagler before moving to garde manger, making family meal and gaining an appreciation for the savory side of the kitchen. When the pandemic hit and shut down the restaurant, Castañon stayed on as part of the reopening team as executive sous chef. She grew to chef de cuisine, mastering fish butchery and live fire cooking along the way from Chef Chris Bleidorn. She was at Birdsong for eight years in total, continuing her savory education while menuing pastry items.
After a six-month break to spend time with her family, Castañon reached out to Bleidorn, since she was contemplating private chef jobs or a change in career. He connected her with Rising Stars alum David Barzelay, who was looking for help opening JouJou, a fine dining French-Californian spot. Castañon joined the team and became the pastry director of both JouJou and Barzelay's fine dining institution, Lazy Bear. At the newly-opened restaurant, she makes refined, playful desserts like her chamomile custard tarte with blueberry jam, blueberries, honey glaze, and salted honey whipped cream. Castañon is an avid supporter of the city's local farmers markets and believes in fostering a pastry community that is tight-knit and that lifts each other up.
2026 StarChefs San Francisco-Oakland Rising Stars Award Winner
