Oberlin

Chef Nicholas Gillespie grew up on Cape Cod surrounded by fisherman, clam-diggers, marine-biologists and chefs. A New England Culinary Institute graduate, Nicholas worked in acclaimed Boston, Nantucket, and Portland, OR restaurants. In 2017, Nicholas moved to Providence and sought to pay homage to the fish shacks and seafood restaurants he’d known in his youth.

Channeling years of fine dining experience to create a sustainable, small-boat, fisheries-focused restaurant, Dune Brothers has now grown to multiple locations including a fish market and wholesale facility. Dune Brothers features scratch-made, chef-driven dishes using lesser-known seafood species like Scup and Dogfish. Nicholas is on a mission to improve accessibility, equity, and community connections around local seafood. Now in its 8th year, Dune Brothers has garnered a cult-following among locals and has become a destination for tourists visiting RI. In 2023, Nick was honored to receive Star Chef’s award for “Best Concept – Coastal New England.”

Sky Haneul Kim was born and raised in Asan, South Korea, where her love for food and cooking was deeply rooted in family traditions and her country’s vibrant culinary culture. Sky embarked on a journey across the country, working in some of the finest restaurants on both coasts. This extensive experience shaped her unique approach to food, blending the bold, dynamic flavors of her Korean heritage with fresh, locally sourced ingredients from her surroundings. In 2024 she was honored as a James Beard Foundation Semifinalist for “Best Emerging Chef,” and this year she was named semifinalist “Best Chef North east”. At Gift Horse, Sky has found her culinary voice, masterfully combining Korean flavors with the bounty of Rhode Island’s local produce and seafood.

Chef Maria Meza was Born in Oaxaca and raised in Puebla, Mexico. In the summer of 1992 along with her family she migrated to Providence, RI. After working for more than a decade in the jewelry industry she opened “El Rancho Grande”, her first restaurant on May 5th of 2007. With no industry experience or no classic culinary training she opened a small 40-seater that served a very traditional menu including her signature dish “Mole Poblano”. Her authentic and traditional flavors quickly made Chef Maria a household name in the area.

In 2019, she opened DOLORES, a more progressive proposition of Mexican distillates and a kitchen based in Nixtamal and the flavors of the family’s native Mixteca region of Puebla and Oaxaca. In the spring of 2024 she was a James Beard Finalist for Best Chef New England.

Chef Nikhil Naiker has never lived far from the ocean. Born in Fiji and raised in coastal California, he graduated from Johnson & Wales University, planting roots in the Providence culinary community, where he continued his education discovering the abundance of high quality produce and seafood available in Rhode Island.

His cooking explores the intersection of Fijian Indian flavors through the local produce in New England. He started his first project, Nimki, in 2024, which led to a James Beard nomination for Emerging Chef. Nimki is currently operating out of Courtland Club, with plans of opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant coming into focus.

Cassie Piuma is a native of Duxbury, Massachusetts. She graduated from Johnson & Wales University where she met her husband and now business partner. She honed her skills at Al Forno in Providence, RI, and then moved back to Boston where she worked at the French bistro, Sel de la Terre and as a sausage maker for Barbara Lynch at the Butcher Shop. She spent the next 11 years with Ana Sortun at Oleana learning the nuances of Middle Eastern cooking and working her way up the ranks.

In 2013 Cassie opened her dream restaurant, Sarma, in Somerville where she cooks her version of modern middle eastern meze in a casual, upbeat neighborhood setting. Sarma has received numerous accolades and was the first restaurant to receive a 5 star review from the Boston Globe. Cassie has been a James beard nominee for best chef: northeast seven times and was mostly recently nominated in 2025 for the category of outstanding chef.