Beverlie Terra – Executive Chef
Executive Chef Beverlie Terra has been a member of the Chaminade Resort & Spa team for more than 20 years. She oversees the resort’s culinarians, leading the inspiration and creation for the menu and recipes, training of restaurant staff and food production for The Sunset Restaurant and Linwood’s Bar & Grill.
In 1983, Chef Beverlie founded Cooper House Coffee & Deli, a coffee shop located in the “old” Cooper House in Downtown Santa Cruz. In 1984, she moved to Napa in order to pursue a career in the hospitality industry. After two years working in Napa’s wineries, restaurants and hotels, Chef Beverlie returned to Santa Cruz. In 1987, she was offered Fine Dining Chef at Chaminade. In 2004, along with the owners of Chaminade, Chef Beverlie travelled to Japan to open the restaurant, Simply Delicious in Shinagawa, a California-meets-Japanese bistro.
An avid culinarian, Chef Beverlie enjoys creating her own menus and recipes that evolve with California’s coastal seasons. She brainstorms ways to transform her ideas into meals, and finds happiness in seeing the joy her culinary creations bring to her restaurants’ patrons.
Chef Beverlie works with local farms and growers to create fresh menus that complement the area and utilize seasonal produce. She often visits a number of local farms and talks with their owners to access not only the freshest produce, but unique herbs and other produce not typically grown commercially. Through Chef Beverlie’s efforts, Chaminade supports local farms such as TLC, Old Creek Ranch and Crystal Bay Farms among others. Chef Beverlie’s relationship with local agriculture is ever-evolving and continues to expand to new farms and new produce.
In addition to local produce, Chef Beverlie’s newest endeavor is utilizing locally sourced, sustainably raised meats and seafood around which she crafts the menus. All of these local ingredients inspire Chef Beverlie to go beyond the normal to create recipes and menu items that utilize the local ingredients to emphasize their freshness, flavor and character.
Beverlie’s excitement for the culinary arts reaches outside of her role at Chaminade. In her free time, Chef Beverlie works with the Veteran Affairs Center in Santa Cruz, assisting with Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holiday meals through the donation of meals and supplies. Beverlie volunteers at the Watsonville Library’s cooking classes, recently working with teenagers doing Bento Box items such as Rice Balls. She has also taught a Garde Manger class at Cabrillo College in Aptos.
