Born in El Salvador to Jordanian parents and raised in San Francisco from the age of six, Munther Massarweh has been passionate about food since his early childhood. He would pepper his mother with questions about cooking methods starting when he was seven, often choosing to work with her in the kitchen instead of playing outside. Later on, his father owned delis and small restaurants on Haight and Broadway Streets in San Francisco, and it was while helping out there on weekends that this burgeoning young chef discovered the joy of working with fresh, quality ingredients.

Early in his career, this self-taught chef honed his culinary skills at several Bay Area restaurants, including Perry's in San Francisco and Mill Valley, where he mastered the art of classic American cuisine, and McCormick & Kuleto's in San Francisco's historic Ghiradelli Square, where he learned how to prepare superb seafood dishes.

While discovering a love of cuisine and restaurant culture, Massarweh also became a member of the San Francisco police force in 1986. By day, he'd be slaving away in the kitchens of McCormick & Kuleto's and by night he'd work the graveyard shift as an undercover police officer.

His destiny was always in the kitchen though, not on the beat. In 1992 Massarweh was recruited by Rich Melman, founder and chairman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., for the executive chef position at the company's renowned Chicago eatery the Pump Room. During his five years at the Pump Room, Massarweh became regarded as one of the top chefs in the city, and was featured on the Food Network as part of a piece about the high profile restaurant. It was also in Chicago that Massarweh learned many of the lessons that would see him become a successful restaurant proprietor in his own right, as he gained experience in the business of food through Lettuce Entertain You. In fact, it was with the assistance of Melman that Massarweh wrote his first business plan and launched his own company on the West Coast.

Since returning to the Bay Area in 1997, Massarweh has become an admired restaurateur, opening a string of successful establishments. His Castro restaurant Tin Pan Asian Bistro gained favorable reviews from San Francisco Chronicle food critic Michael Bauer, where Massarweh developed a love of Asian flavors that influences the East meets West nature of some his dishes at Branches. After Tin Pan Asian Bistro, Massarweh moved north to wine country to open the Bistro at Glen Ellen in 1998, where he was Executive Chef and Managing General Partner. Next, he took on the same roles at the wildly successful steakhouse Wildfox in Novato, which opened in 2000. He is also the owner of Scrumptious Occasions Catering, which provides high-end fare for wine country weddings and other special events.

While always involved in the business side of things, Massarweh's big passion is cooking and he enjoys his time in the kitchen as Executive Chef at his establishments. An avid wine collector, Massarweh also hosts annual food and wine tours to the south of France and enjoys sharing his passion for food and wine with others.

With his latest venture, the Branches Wood Fired Chop House restaurant complex in Ukiah that will also house a butcher shop, bakery, pub and retail marketplace, the successful chef and restaurateur looks forward to applying the number one lesson he has learned throughout his years in the business: cooking for his guests, not himself.

When not working in his restaurants, Massarweh enjoys spending time with his beloved family and any opportunity to fly a turbo-charged Saratoga aircraft, utilizing a pilot's license he earned in 2006. Massarweh flew into the Ukiah Municipal Airport on many occasions, each time being drawn further and further to the rich variety of local agricultural treasures. Feeling like the area was a great place to bring his family, Massarweh decided to create Branches as a way to combine his experience as a chef and restaurateur and desire to lay down roots in the area.