Anya

Executive Chef and owner of Birch and Rye. 

Top Chef contestant Season 22

Hometown: Moscow, Russia 
Currently living in: San Francisco

Born and raised in Moscow, Anya El-Wattar's culinary education began with her mother teaching her about foraging, preserving, and showing love through cooking. 

Anya moved to America at 18, earning a degree from Columbia University before attending the Ayurvedic Institute in New Mexico to study the healing properties of food. 

More recently, Anya opened Birch & Rye, an ode to Russian gastronomy with a contemporary Californian twist. In 2022, Birch & Rye earned a spot in the Michelin Guide and a James Beard Awards semifinalist for Best New Restaurant.

Anya: " I was born in Moscow. I have been in the United States since I was 18 years old. I opened Birch and Rye two weeks before Russia invaded Ukraine. And I said, nobody's ever going to go to a Russian restaurant now. To my big surprise, it was so well received and won best new restaurant by James Beard Foundation. And that gave me the courage to say, you know what? I can't delete where I was born."