Camila Salazar, chef de partie at Single Thread and Osmel Gonzalez, sous chef, pose in front of the restaurant.
Camila Salazar and Osmel Gonzalez were already a powerful duo before arriving in Healdsburg. But after two and a half years, they have not only found a community within their working family at Single Thread, but have created one of their own.
Gonzalez is Single Thread’s sous chef and Salazar the chef de partie. Gonzalez is a proud Cuban and Salazar a proud Colombian. In a community predominantly Mexican when it comes to the Latinx population, they stand out — not only because of where they come from, but because of their story and the abilities that brought them to Sonoma County. They have been working in the restaurant industry for years and have evolved since they both arrived in the United States in their 20s.
The couple met in Miami and worked and lived in Spain before coming to Healdsburg.
“I was only supposed to stay here (in the United States) for one year,” she said. Gonzalez was an intern at a hotel in Miami. They began dating and Gonzalez invited her with him to Spain. Soon they realized they both loved an adventure and a challenge, but tackling those together would be easier.
Gonzalez applied to Single Thread after seeing on Instagram that they were hiring. He went from thinking they would not respond to traveling to Healdsburg, spending three days “on stage,” or, showing what he could do to get the job. Gonzalez said he wanted to work at Single Thread because he saw it had two Michelin stars — now it has three — and he had worked in similar restaurants.
When Gonzalez applied to Single Thread he had no idea where Healdsburg was or what it would be like.
“We didn’t know how to pronounce the town,” Salazar said.
At the time, Salazar had gone back to Colombia and came back to the states to help Gonzalez move to California. But Salazar was not planning to stay.
“He was like, ‘No way I’m gonna do this alone,’” Salazar recalled. Gonzalez proposed to Salazar at the Golden Gate Bridge. From then on, their story had a new chapter: California.
“When you’re a cook and you apply for a job, people need to see what you do. Yes, you can have a big resume, which, of course, helps a lot. But you also need to show what you’re able to do. And sometimes you are a fit for a team, sometimes you’re not a fit for a team,” Gonzalez said.
“I love the story behind what we do here at Single Thread. I kind of fell in love with everything. I really liked it. So it was like — it doesn’t matter where you are — with a restaurant, it’s just, I want to be there,” he said.
Salazar said the good thing about being a cook is that you can go wherever you want.
“People eat everywhere. People need cooks everywhere. So you can decide where you want to go, and there’s no limit to that,” Salazar said.
Their love for cooking came at them in different ways. Gonzalez was living with his brother in Miami and began to cook for himself. One day a friend who had a party rental business tried his food and offered to do a collaboration. He did several caterings for weddings but his knowledge came from Youtube. He had been thinking of studying accounting but went ahead and switched to culinary school.
Gonzalez said he realized how much he loved to cook when he saw the faces of a couple trying his food for their wedding.
“And I will never forget the expression on their faces. They were so happy, there was so much joy. I was like, oh my god, I want to do this my whole life. So it was a really beautiful experience,” he said.
She said there is nothing more satisfying for a chef than seeing the face of someone enjoying their food. Salazar was in her second year of law school when she realized she loved to cook. She had been cooking for herself for a while and became more interested as time went by. She took a few courses and then told her parents she did not want to do law school anymore. They supported her.
At Single Thread, they both have different duties. Gonzalez oversees the cooks and makes sure the food is up to the standards of the restaurant while helping the executive chef. Salazar begins her shifts at 4 a.m. and prepares to help with night services and at 6 a.m. cooks arrive to do breakfast. She has been working mornings since she became a mom.
For both of them, their jobs were an exciting challenge because Japanese food was something they were not used to.
“I’ll say a lot of the ingredients that we use, I didn’t use them before. So I didn’t know anything about them before. Which is great, because we get exposed to new things and you learn,” Gonzalez said.
He was mainly used to Latin and Spanish food. Gonzalez had a hard time learning the new ingredients but he wrote them down every day until he got it. He explained everything at Single Thread is carefully thought of, from the plating to the floral design.
“It’s kind of like a way of living,” he said. They use a method where the ocean, the earth and the sky can be reflected in the food. The broth, for instance, can represent the ocean, and the earth could be vegetables. This is their first time working this way and they both love it.
But not everything has been a road without bumps. Upon arrival, Gonzalez and Salazar first experienced the fire season. Then, a global pandemic. This obviously caused some stress but it never made them consider leaving. They both felt lucky to have had a job during the pandemic. It also gave them the opportunity for new ventures, such as Cuban and Colombian food pop-ups.
“When we were doing takeout foods, it was kind of like a different menu every day. So, we did a Cuban food takeout for one day, which was really great. People really loved it. We also did Colombian food, you know, which Cami was making that menu. We loved how the community and everybody was just there to support not just Single Thread but us,” he said.
Gonzalez has also held Cuban food pop-ups at Quail and Condor. For him, being able to share his culture in Sonoma County feels great. They already feel like a part of the community especially since their six-month-old daughter was born in the area. Salazar explained it is not as easy to make Colombian food sometimes because certain ingredients are not locally available. She said if she were to look for something, she knows it would impact the environment because of traveling. They both try to use ingredients that are immediately available to lessen the environmental impact — like using pumpkin instead of Yuca, so the flavors can be similar. Gonzalez said people can expect more pop-ups in the future; both think it is extremely important to highlight their cultures.
“For example, right here in Healdsburg, people don’t know a lot about our cultures. And well, I think I am the only Colombian here. I’ve never met another Colombian here. I think there’s one more person, but I’m not sure,” Salazar said.
As immigrants succeeding in the U.S they both said success comes from focusing on what you want, “and not what people think,” Gonzalez said. “That’s mostly what I’ve been doing all my life and same with Cami. We are trying to do what we love, which is cooking, and we just focus on how we spend our day doing that.”
Salazar said she misses her country so much but she is also following her dreams. They have also created their own support system within their job.
“We have all the support from the restaurant. We are away from our family, but we have this other family that really likes to take care of us every single day and they have always been there for us,” Gonzalez said.
