Thomas McNaughton, Co-Executive Chef + CEO
Thomas McNaughton, co-chef and CEO of Flour + Water Hospitality Group, grew up in Southern New Jersey where he began working in local kitchens at the age of 15. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, then gained valuable experience working for Bay Area restaurants La Folie, Gary Danko and Quince. On his culinary journey, he also worked at a number of Michelin-rated restaurants in France, Germany and Italy, falling head over heels in love with the hand-rolled pastas of Bologna and the nonne that produce them.
Thomas is relentlessly driven by the community of farmers, craftsmen and “creatives” that call the Bay Area home. Always collaborative in nature, Thomas feels his number one job at FWHG is to nurture a culture where all team members feel heard, inspired and work in an environment that allows their individual talents to excel.
Ryan Pollnow, Co-Executive Chef + Vice President
Ryan Pollnow, co-chef and vice president of the Flour + Water Hospitality Group, discovered a love for cooking and the micro seasons of the Bay Area while growing up in Northern California. Ryan completed culinary school in Sonoma County while working at restaurants and wineries to further develop his acumen in the field. He continued his education abroad at renowned restaurant Mugaritz in northern Spain before returning to the Bay Area. Traveling for culinary inspiration has always been an important part of his growth, and his time in Italy left a significant imprint on his love for seasonal cooking. Ryan led each FWHG kitchen individually as Chef de Cuisine before transitioning into his current role overseeing all culinary operations as co-executive chef.
Dan Nestojko, CEO of Flour + Water Foods
Dan has spent the last 25 years building consumer packaged food brands across the spectrum of the US market. He has broad business experience from leadership roles in Sales, Marketing, Operations and Finance through his career. Dan holds an Economics degree from the University of California Santa Barbara, and a Master’s in Business from the University of San Diego. A So Cal Native, Dan loves the outdoors and especially all things Ocean. He believes in the impact of food on people’s health and well-being, and also in the importance of our global food system in the sustainability of a healthy planet. Dan lives in San Diego CA with his lovely wife Nicole and their two daughters, Jane and Kate.
Vanya Shekell, Chief People Officer
Vanya started her restaurant career at the age of 15 as a barista in Alameda, CA and has worked in a broad range of roles in 24-hour diners and cafes, boutique catering and events, fine dining, and everything in between ever since. This breadth of experience has primed her for her current role as Chief People Officer of Flour + Water Hospitality Group, driving company culture, DEI, organizational development, employee growth and mentorship, leadership development, and HR systems and compliance. When not working, Vanya spends her time tending to her garden and animals, cooking and eating delicious food, and listening (and often dancing) to good music. She is relentlessly driven by the pursuit of a happy, healthy, diverse, well-paid workforce, ensuring growth and development within the team, and creating career paths that lead to lifers in our amazing industry.
David Steele, Co-Founder + Executive Chairman
David is a New Jersey native who merges the heart of a food entrepreneur with the brain of a born businessman having spent decades in both the finance and restaurant worlds. After working in restaurants in every capacity through high school and college, Flour + Water Hospitality Group is the realization of a life-long dream to return to the food world and create restaurants that have “spectacularly high standards while maintaining a sense of their humble beginnings”. For Steele, excellence does not equal exclusivity and he applies this pursuit of excellence to every aspect of the Flour + Water Hospitality Group’s operations, not just with food and service, but also atmosphere, design, employee satisfaction, financial sustainability, and the group’s role within its neighborhood and community. Steele works with the FWHG Executive team on overall company strategy while also leading the consulting team to help aspiring restaurateurs realize their dream of opening restaurants.
Kara Bratcher, Chief Financial Officer + Treasurer
An Orange County native, Kara moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 2001 to pursue her financial career while nurturing an ever-growing passion for food and wine. She worked in cafes and restaurants while studying fine art and classical dance and began her financial career with nonprofit organizations. As CFO, Kara designs growth strategies and continuously drives the financial performance that enables the restaurant group to achieve its long-term goals. Across 10 more years of spearheading the restaurant group’s growth, Kara has continued to develop her accounting and finance skills. She works closely with management teams to increase efficiency and integrate fiscal data analysis into day to day operations. Perhaps most importantly Kara supports all departmental managers giving them the invaluable tools they need to succeed.
Amanda Flores, Senior Director of Operations
As Senior Director of Operations for Flour + Water Hospitality Group, Amanda is committed to cultivating an outstanding employee experience and restaurant culture for each concept within the group’s portfolio, including Flour + Water, Flour + Water Pasta Shop, Flour + Water Pizzeria, and Penny Roma. She initially joined the team as the General Manager of Flour + Water in 2016, bringing a deep commitment to the growth and development of the hospitality industry in the 7×7 of San Francisco and beyond. Every day, Amanda shares her immeasurable passion for food and wine with the FWHG team and restaurant guests, drawing from her 10+ years of leadership experience.
Mac Malone, Director of Marketing + Events
Mac experienced her first training in the art of Southern hospitality at a young age while working at her dad’s neighborhood pharmacy in Nashville, TN, where she was born and raised. After earning a Hospitality Management degree in South Carolina in 2014, she landed in San Francisco for an internship with the local food and wine festival, Eat Drink SF, and quickly became obsessed with the Bay Area’s restaurant scene. She joined the Flour + Water Hospitality Group team in 2016, and now holds an integral role overseeing the events and marketing department for our family of restaurants and Flour + Water Foods CPG division. Her passion and creativity shines through the unique and memorable experiences she crafts for the Flour + Water brand.
Sam Bogue, Beverage Director
Sam Bogue began his career in hospitality bussing tables throughout high school while growing up in Boulder, Colorado. A part-time job took a serious turn when he landed a position polishing glassware at the revered Frasca Food & Wine, drawing inspiration from esteemed Sommelier, Bobby Stucky, and starting his studies in the Court of Master Sommelier at the ripe age of 22. In 2012 Sam moved to San Francisco to pursue his love of the hospitality industry, and on the recommendation of a close friend set his sights on working for Flour + Water where he now oversees the curation of the beverage program across the hospitality group’s portfolio of restaurants. After a decade+ of curating wine lists, educating staff, and traveling across the globe to different wine regions, Sam believes wine should be fun, not fussy. He considers the single most important function of the group’s beverage program is the approach to education, and prioritizes expanding his team’s understanding of wine with an emphasis on regional Italian varieties.
Beyond Italian producers, Sam loves featuring fledgling CA labels who are leading the most innovative and interesting winemaking in the region, working exclusively with farm-focused micro estates who follow organic farming principles and consider the health of the land and those working on it. He feels passionately about showcasing producers who share the group’s commitment to environmental stewardship, while also seeking small production wines that give voice to lesser known makers. As part of these efforts, Sam has spearheaded collaborations with many hyper-local winemakers to create exclusive wines inspired by some of his favorite regional Italian bottlings.
Diana Hossfeld, Director of Brand + Communications
Diana oversees external and internal communications, editorial projects, and creative brand initiatives for the group’s restaurants and Flour + Water Foods CPG division. Diana has spent 13+ years working in strategic communications and marketing, most recently as the head of Becca’s West Coast office, a role she held for eight years. During that time she worked closely with award-winning chefs, restaurants, and brands to help share their stories in meaningful ways. Diana previously held positions in advertising sales for Hearst Magazines, and in the drama development department at CBS Television. At Flour + Water Hospitality Group, Diana is driven by her long-held passion for story-telling that uplifts others.
