Maria Gonzalez started her culinary journey working at the age of 15 at a local butcher shop in Alief, Texas. Her family’s love of food inspired her from day one, as her grandma and great grandma taught her traditional dishes utilizing only her hands and taste to create recipes from scratch. Graduating from The Art Institute of Houston’s Culinary program, Maria worked at Saba Blue Water Café with Chef Dylan Murray and then went to Aries, working her way up before returning to be executive chef at Saba Blue Water Café where she was nominated as best new chef 2004. She then worked at The Houstonian and The Manor House. From there she re-connected with Chef Murray and found her current success with Benjy’s group of restaurants for the past 10 years.
