About Olivier Said

“The former part-owner of Berkeley’s acclaimed Cesar Tapas Bar, Said is one of the Bay Area’s most respected culinary personalities.”

With Chef MikeC., he recently co-founded Kitchen on Fire - a cutting-edge new school that teaches home chefs the fine art of cooking and entertaining through a changing repertoire of hands-on classes, demonstrations and lectures presented by executive chefs from top Bay Area restaurants, visiting culinary celebrities, food-related experts, and the owners themselves.

Uniquely situated in the heart of Berkeley’s famed Gourmet Ghetto, Kitchen on Fire is located just two doors away from Alice Waters’ landmark Chez Panisse Restaurant and occupies the entire second floor of The Epicurious Garden - an upscale food court that quickly became a Bay Area mecca for foodies since opening in March 2006.

Born and raised in France, Said literally grew up in the business - the descendant of at least five generations of restaurateurs in France dating back to the early 1800s. He began his career in the kitchen of his mother’s successful Paris restaurant at the mere age of 15.

After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, he worked for Ken Frank’s LaToque, one the first restaurants in the country to feature California nouvelle cuisine. In 1987, Said returned to Paris and opened his first restaurant, Texas Coyote, which was such a success that he had to move the operation to bigger quarters to house its three bars and late night club.

“He returned to the States in the late 1990s and was invited to become a part-owner in an innovative new tapas bar to be called Cesar, founded by three Chez Panisse alumni.”

The tiny 60-seat restaurant was an instant hit with both Berkeley food lovers and restaurant critics who raved about its unique Mediterranean-inspired menu and world-class wine-and-spirits list. The San Francisco Food Lover’s Guide hailed it as "one of the greatest bars in the world in terms of quality of spirits, selection, and mixology." Among other accolades, it was voted one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Chronicle for five years in a row, and featured in such national publications, as Gourmet magazine.

He balances his time between the school and authoring culinary cookbooks.

In September 2003 Cesar: Recipes from a Tapas Bar (Ten Speed Press) was released and received considerable acclaim, most notably being voted one of the ten best cookbooks of the year by Food and Wine magazine. His second book The Bar (Ten Speed Press) released in September 2005 focuses on spirits, alcohols and cocktails from around the world.