CHEF KRISTA

Chef Krista Espinal’s culinary aspirations were sown from a family rich in the culture of food and hospitality. Her professional journey started in 2006 with a deep rooted connection to culinary artistry that pushed her to excel throughout New York’s lower Hudson Valley. She was trained by some of the area’s most gifted and well known chefs in cuisines ranging from Classic French to Global Fusion.

Chef Krista invents her dishes by utilizing local farmer’s extraordinary produce, dairy and meats; expounding on them with her incomparable personal style. Chef Krista’s intensity, dedication, and creativity are simultaneously obvious and subtle; with a thoughtful appreciation for the use of texture, flavor, and seasonality that satisfies even the most discerning of palates. Affectionately known as “Miss Mise”, a moniker taken to express her personal belief in the French cooking term “Mise en Place” or “everything in it’s place”.

Krista Espinal was Chef de Cuisine of Yono's & dp an American Brasserie in Albany, New York. Yono's has been recognized by the James Beard Foundation, Wine Spectator, Santé, DiRoNA, & The American Culinary Federation among others. Ms. Espinal was founding chef of ‘Feed Albany’ in March of 2020. A nonprofit food service serving well over 125,000 meals to all those in need and on the front lines during the pandemic in the capital region of New York.   

Upon moving to Knoxville in 2021, Krista has spent her time working as Chef de Partie at Blackberry Mountain Restaurants - Sycamore & Three Sisters. She was most recently working with James Beard Award winning Chef Joseph Lenn at JC Holdway Restaurant, managing pastry and stationed on wood fire cookery. Although her most recent televised media was on the Food Network as a competitor on Chopped, she can be found regularly in local culture magazines, at industry events, or teaching the basics of her style at private cooking classes and farmers markets.

Hummingbird Gourmet is dedicated, influenced and inspired by her Grandmother Gabrielle and her Daughter Maeve. Gabe had a love for fine food, hospitality, family and hummingbirds. <3