ABOUT US

Our Chef - Miguel Silverio

Miguel Silverio grew up in small-town Veracruz, Mexico with his sister and two brothers. His grandparents, who raised him, taught him to cook in their restaurant, Oaxaca Valley, named for the place they first met. His grandmother’s paternal descendants immigrated from Italy so he grew up learning to cook both Mexican and Italian food, which influenced Miguel’s love for cooking and his personal style. 

At 14, Miguel immigrated to Los Angeles. Eventually, he became a line cook at Junior’s, a family owned, jewish deli, bakery and popular restaurant. Junior’s is where Miguel formed his connection with professional cooking and developed his early technical skills, such as the ten day process to corn beef, knowledge he preserves every Brunch at Giaco’s through our Corned Beef and Hash!

In 2011, Miguel visited friends in the Bay Area and he realized he was tired of the big-city environment and loved the small-town community–it reminded him of his childhood home, being surrounded by nature, cows, and horses. Since then, he’s worked in a litany of restaurants that have shaped him into the well-rounded Chef he is today. Perhaps the most important of these markers was the French Laundry, where he had an amazing experience as a line cook; the high pressure environment and steep learning curve made him a better, more refined chef. Other important stops along the way were Farm Shop in Larkspur, where he worked for six years in a sous chef capacity, and Le Garage, a restaurant in Sausalito, where he strengthened his foundational French cooking. The owner was an important mentor for Miguel who saw his potential as a chef and pushed him to be more ambitious. Although he continued to work at Farm Shop, he desired a change of pace that led him to the former​​ Two Bird Café. 

Luckily, when the Giacomini family took over, he agreed to become the Head Chef of Giaco’s Valley Roadhouse. Miguel is now the heart and soul of our growing, small business. He enjoys the opportunity to run his own kitchen and create new and interesting choices for our customers. As a philosophy, Miguel is inspired by Mediterranean and Latin flavors and finding the freshest seasonal and local ingredients to bring to the restaurant. The small environment of Giaco’s allows Miguel to tailor dishes to our local clientele and what they like, to give back to the customers who support our business. More importantly, he has helped create and preserve the family environment in the kitchen and restaurant. We are a team and a family here at Giaco’s, one that works together and takes care of each other, inside and outside of the restaurant. 

Miguel now lives in the San Geronimo Valley with his lovely wife Wendy and beautiful sons, Emiliano and Nico. He and his family are very happy and grateful to live in such a beautiful area and be a part of our Valley community. Miguel’s free time is spent with his family. They enjoy hiking and cooking together. His son Emiliano loves to cook, especially breakfast. It brings Miguel a lot of joy to cook with his sons, to visit memories and pass on the knowledge, and to have that same quality time with his sons that he had with his abuela. In other words, it is his family, past and present, that inspire Miguel’s cooking. A taste of love that can be felt in every bite at Giaco’s.