Camille Becerra

About

Professional chef, food stylist, and recipe developer who is based in New York City and specializes in New American cuisine. She is known for her restaurants Paola and Navy in Soho, and for having worked as a residency chef at Cafe Henrie. 

Before Fame

She first started cooking professionally after high school and went on to attend the Academy of Culinary Arts in Cape May, New Jersey. She studied Macrobiotic cooking for cancer patients before moving to a Zen monastery in New Mexico where she cooked vegetarian meals for the monks utilizing their garden for her meals. She opened her first restaurant in 2005. 

Trivia

She is known for having helped conceptualize and open the Nolita restaurant in DeMaria which went on to win the James Beard award for design. 

Family Life

Her first restaurant in Greenpoint, Brooklyn was named Paloma after her daughter. 

Associated With

She is known for having competed on season three of the series Top Chef where she appeared alongside Padma Lakshmi and Ted Allen.