Liza Shaw's rustic and soulful menu at A16 reflects a deep appreciation of Southern Italian culinary traditions combined with Northern California sensibilities. With roots in la cucina povera, Liza distills robust and complex flavors from simple ingredients-from Bay Area produce and sustainable sardines to imported fragrant capers (cucunci), Sicilian almonds and diavolicchio peperoncini-and classic preparations, including hand-made pastas and wood-fired pizzas.

Liza acquired an early appreciation for Italian cooking through a Sicilian family friend while growing up in Glyndon, Maryland. It was not until years later, when Liza moved to San Francisco to work for a short-lived Internet start-up that she turned a lifelong love for cooking into a career. When the dot-com bubble burst, Liza enrolled in the California Culinary Academy, but it was an externship and subsequent job with Suzette Gresham-Tognetti at San Francisco's famed Acquerello restaurant that would prove to be the most impactful part of her culinary education. It was there that Liza developed a profound passion for making pasta, learned the economy of movement in the kitchen and recognized the importance of minimizing waste and extracting the most flavor from the simplest of ingredients.

After two years at Acquerello, Liza was recruited to open A16 in 2004, where she worked her way up through every kitchen station before being promoted to executive chef and partner of A16 San Francisco in January 2009. During this time, she established deep relationships with local farmers and purveyors and contributed to the writing, recipe development and food styling of the award-winning A16 Food + Wine cookbook. Liza also played a pivotal role in the September 2009 opening of A16 Tokyo by working with the staff and developing the menu, which reflects that of the San Francisco restaurant with an emphasis on seasonality and use of local Japanese ingredients."

In addition to fostering a "learning kitchen," where A16 cooks break down whole animals, learn and share ideas and new cooking techniques, and contribute to menu items, Liza travels annually to Italy to continue her own culinary education, including a recent stage at Quattro Passi, in Marina del Cantone on the Amalfi coast, to experience first-hand the bright flavors and rich history of Campania's coastal cuisine. Similarly, Liza has discovered new ingredients and techniques during her regular trips to Tokyo, which have impacted her menu in San Francisco.

At A16, Liza collaborates with wine director/owner Shelley Lindgren to offer Campanian-inspired cuisine that pairs beautifully with a predominantly Italian wine list celebrating lesser-known selections from the Mezzogiorno. Illustrated with a few ingredients that are bright in flavor, Liza's signature style is evident in her delicate ricotta gnocchi; hand-made pastas with squid ink; involtini (meat or fish rolled and stuffed with fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables and/or cheeses); acqua pazza, local seafood cooked in tomato brodo; and wood-fired pizzas.

Liza was recognized as Restaurant Hospitality's December 2009 Rising Star and is a member of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs and an active supporter of Chefs Collaborative.