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Donna Eaton, Proprietor
The Palace Café has been my home away from home for the past seven years. I love helping clients envision their ideal event, and then carrying it out for them flawlessly. It’s a great privilege to realize this dream with chef Dennis Iczkowski, with whom I’ve worked for over a decade.
After years of hosting some of Silicon Valley’s most illustrious parties as one of the owners of the Palace Restaurant and Event Center, I founded the Palace Café and Catering in 1999 for two reasons. First, I wanted to offer a more intimate and casual dining atmosphere for customers to enjoy on a daily basis. Plus, I wanted to make our signature dishes and excellent service available to clients for parties in their own homes and offices. My years spent at The Palace Event Center gave me great experience in creating festive party themes (Mardi Gras, 1930’s Supper Club, Hawaiian Luau), and in catering in spectacular locales (Hearst Castle, MOMA, Thomas Fogarty Winery, Legion of Honor, San Francisco) – all of which makes me uniquely qualified to create truly special events for my private clients.
My curiosity about food began during high school, when I began working for a premier catering business in my home state of Idaho. This experience drove me to cater large events at Santa Clara University, where I received a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management in 1990.
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Dennis Iczkowski, Executive Chef
At age 15, I began my apprenticeship then and worked my way up through the ranks while attending college. My exposure to the modern culinary world includes travel throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, as well as more than 22 years of experience in the kitchen.
At the Palace Café, I create contemporary cuisine that is inspired by all of these places, and many others. In the kitchen, I adhere to a few simple rules that have served me well: teamwork, integrity, honesty, quality, passion, authenticity and a good sense of humor.
Prior to assuming my role at the Palace Café, I was Executive Chef and Chef de Cuisine at The Palace Restaurant (working alongside Donna Eaton), the Executive Chef at The Rio Grande in Mountain View, Sous Chef at Cindy Black’s in La Jolla, and Banquet Chef and Garde Manager at L’Auberge-the-Inn at Del Mar. I hold a B.A. degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. My academic focus centered on visual culture, the cultural aspects of food, and organic food and agriculture in California.
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