Chef Patricia Gamboa

Hospitality is in my blood. From my first business selling homemade brownies in the 6th grade to running a national events business, taking care of people became a core theme of my life.

One of the most critical pillars was food. When I was 8 my mom sent me to Le Cordon Blue 's cooking summer camp where I learned now to bake an apple pie. Our nannies would assemble pies, the cook would bake the, and I called all my mom’s friends to buy my pie. I sold pies every holiday season until I left to study my A-Levels at Bellerby’s College in England. School was hard. So the idea of making something and selling it for profit became a critical outlet for me. My high school grades were so bad I couldn’t get into a traditional college, so my parents sent me to the Center for Culinary Arts, Manila (I grew up in the Philippines).

Upon graduation, I moved to Los Angeles where I became a junior pastry chef at Morton’s in West Hollywood. At 21 the door to baking and planning Hollywood parties opened wide. I helped plan parties like the Vanity Fair OSCARS After-Party, the Emmys, and the Grammys.

A year after I worked at Morton’s, I opened my own event planning firm, Patrician Company. I started it from my ex-fiancé’s guest bedroom with $700.00 to my name and a borrowed laptop. I grew Patrician Company to an annual revenue of $2.5m while delivering flawless events across the country. Along the way, I’ve been able to dig wells in Nepal and Uganda, built schools in Iraq and Afghanistan, and provide shelter for sex-trafficked teenage girls in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Now, I live in Irvine, CA. I start my mornings at 5 and I go for a run and when my hamstrings are tight, I lay out my yoga mat and do yoga. I end my day with a cocktail. I cook every night and can’t wait to eat leftovers. I am the CEO of Working Woman's Food, Inc. Where we eliminate the hassle of menu planning and grocery shopping for all working women (and men) so their dining tables are free from bland mediocre food but instead serve exciting dishes everyone is excited to gather around.

I have this interesting habit of inviting someone to something every day. Because the pain of eating alone is universal. We all know it and it doesn’t have to be this way. Inviting someone to something beats eating alone.