about our experts

Erin Eastland (Executive Chef, Cube Cafe & Marketplace)
Cube Executive Chef Erin Eastland was born in Syracuse, New York, and spent her childhood in Evansville, Indiana and Princeton, New Jersey. After graduating from Trinity College in Connecticut in 2001, she moved back to New York, where she lived for three years, working first as a Garde Manger at Calle Ocho, then moving on to the cheese shop Le Petite Chateau, where she worked as Cheese Manager. After earning her Grand Diploma in Culinary Arts and French Technique with honors at New York's French Culinary Institute in 2004, she moved on to work as Pastry Chef at Tribeca's Le Zinc restaurant, and as an Event Planner and Catering Manager for the Fabbri Mansion – a non-profit organization based in Manhattan. In 2005, Erin moved to Los Angeles, first working for upscale catering business Trés LA, before she eventually landed at Cube, where she has worked as Executive Chef since January, 2006. Since then, she’s worked as the Executive Chef at Cube, overseeing the weekly creation of seasonal, regional Italian-inspired menus and food preparation. Outside of the kitchen, Erin is a devoted mother of two, wife, and avid marathon runner.
 

Lora Hall (Master Gardener for The Cube Organic Rooftop Garden)
It all began with an itsy bitsy plot of land at a local community garden. From then on, Lora Hall was hooked: potting, plucking, packing and pruning away everyday under the sun. Today, with a B.A. from U.C. Berkeley and a M.S from Cal Poly Pomona, she practices as a professional gardener and garden educator with an emphasis on edible gardening, fruit trees and California appropriate low water use landscapes. Amongst founding the Los Angeles Urban Chicken Enthusiasts in 2009 – a network for individuals who want to raise chickens in the city- and working with local Los Angeles-based restaurants, she was quickly recruited by Cube Café and Marketplace to aide in the direction and production of their tk squarefoot rooftop garden in Downtown Los Angeles where they grow food for their Hollywood based restaurant. You’re most likely to find her at her home in Silverlake, composting, cooking and…raising chickens in a small backyard nursery.


David King (Wine Director, Cube Cafe & Marketplace; CubeMarketplace.com)
Born in Bryan, Texas as the son of a cotton farmer and a small town bio teacher, it was somewhat less than unexpected that David King would one day be General Manager and Wine Director of Hollywood’s  Cube Café and Marketplace.  On the other hand, the close proximity to fresh food of the Texas farm life in cahoots with his enthusiastic and epicurean-inclined Italian Grandmother proved to be major contributors to his eventual affinity for the cuisine in question. From then on he partook in restaurant positions running the gamut from back waiter to server in some fine (and not to fine) establishments as he worked his way through University of Texas. It wasn’t until David moved to LA in 2008 that he became part of the Cube family; and while he studied wine under Cube’s former beverage director, those who witnessed his transformation can tell you it was really the good ol’ fashioned southern farm boy work ethic that contributed to most of his success. Today, he’s established in wine circles around the world and continues to further his education through research- his most recent oenological endeavors include the Italian Trade Commission’s wine Event in New York City and a two week jaunt to Italy’s most respected wine show, Vinitaly.  But amongst his rapid LA transformation you can be damn sure the Texas pride lives on (note: obnoxious longhorn-orange Camaro and the undisguisable charm of the Southern drawl).


Rachael Sheridan (Buyer, Cube Cafe & Marketplace; CubeMarketplace.com)
Growing up on a farm in Ohio, Rachael Sheridan developed an appreciation for food at a young age.  Her family raised a variety of animals, and her mother canned her own preserves and pickles, baked homemade breads, and made her own juices.  Rachael began baking in second grade at her mother's encouragement, and soon became fascinated by the history and process behind the foods she ate and loved.  After moving to Los Angeles in 2000, Rachael began working for Divine Pasta Company, a local, artisanal purveyor of fresh handmade pastas and sauces.  Within one year of beginning work at Divine Pasta, Rachael started researching handmade and organic products for the company’s retail store.  When Divine Pasta unveiled Cube, their café, cheese bar, and marketplace in 2006, Rachael was able to greatly expand her unique selection of marketplace items and cheeses. Today, with Rachael as their Buyer, Cube carries over 1000 hard-to-find and exclusive retail products in their marketplace and offers up to 65 international and domestic artisanal cheeses in their café on any given day.  Rachael also oversees product selection and content development for www.CubeMarketplace.com, Cube’s e-commerce emporium, which launched in January, 2008, and specializes in high-end gourmet foods and handmade products for home and garden.  It is Rachael's high regard for small-batch food producers and designers and the quality of their products which motivates and inspires her to continually search for Cube’s next coveted item.


Jun Tan (Pastry Chef, Cube Cafe & Marketplace)
With an Aunt and Grandmother who both own bakeries, it seems nearly inevitable that Jun Tan was destined to be an ardent purveyor of pastry.
Born and raised in the Philippines, his mother taught him to bake his first cake at the age of nine. He attended the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines, where he earned a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management before moving to California at the age of 20. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, Tan attended the Art Institute of California, where he earned an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts. He was employed as Pastry Chef at the Wilshire Grand Hotel from 2001 through 2003 before moving on to work as Pastry Chef at Raffles L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills where crafted dessert menus for the hotel's restaurants, room service and exclusive private parties. From 2004 through 2007, Tan worked as Executive Pastry Chef and Manager for La Spiga Fine Baking and Catering, where he ran baking and catering operations for both wholesale and retail departments.  It wasn’t until 2007 that Tan joined the staff at Cube Café & Marketplace where he currently serves as Executive Pastry Chef tasked with creating weekly dessert menus that are both seasonally-focused, and inspired by regional Italian cuisine. He regularly utilizes farmer’s market produce and Cube’s gourmet ingredients when creating his menus, and is also responsible for overseeing the creation of Cube’s house-made breads and pastas.