Chef Alejandra Espinoza

Gifted with equal parts verve, vision, and an insatiable need to create, Ecuadorian chef Alejandra Espinoza is the co-owner and creative force behind Somos. Unapologetically ambitious, she’s making room for the people, places and palette of Ecuador at the global culinary table through her genre-defining Quito restaurant.

After years spent studying, traveling and living abroad, Alejandra returned to her country in 2018 to start a restaurant and a culinary movement that would elevate Ecuadorian cuisine and make it known around the world.

She is degreed in hospitality management, with an additional diploma qualification in culinary arts and restaurant management from Institut Paul Bocuse. An adventure-seeker, avid trail runner, and mountaineer, Alejandra can be found enjoying Ecuador’s high sierras any chance she gets alongside her husband and business partner Signo Uddenberg.

Alejandra is speaking on Panel 3: Spotlight on San Francisco - Unicorn Thinking