Placer County Chef Hope “Sabrina” Huber Gives Back to CASA Through Chef-Led Culinary Gift

Hope “Sabrina” Huber, a local Del Oro High School graduate and Northern California chef, is giving back close to home through a generous culinary contribution supporting CASA in Placer County. Raised in the Auburn and Loomis community, Huber now works in Healdsburg at SingleThread, a Three-Michelin-Star restaurant recognized as 2025 and 2026 La Liste’s #1 top-ranked restaurant in the world and hopes her celebrity chef-led experience can help bring meaningful support to CASA’s work with local children and youth.

For local supporters, the connection is heartfelt: a hometown graduate, student leader, and scholar returning to help raise support for children and families in her own community. Huber’s path has taken her from Placer County to advanced food studies in Italy and into one of the country’s most respected fine-dining kitchens, but this contribution reflects something closer to home — using food, hospitality, and service to support children who need advocacy, stability, and care.

As part of CASA’s 2026 annual Spring Tea fundraiser in Lincoln, Huber donated an in-home chef dinner experience that helped raise thousands of dollars for Placer County CASA. The contribution became one of the event’s standout auction gifts, giving supporters a meaningful way to bid on a personal chef-led dining experience while helping fund advocacy and support for local foster children, at-risk youth, and families in crisis.

The donation reflects Huber’s belief that food and hospitality can do more than create a memorable meal. They can bring people together around causes that matter, especially when the cause supports children, families, and community advocacy close to home.

CASA, which stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, supports children and youth who are involved in the court system because of abuse, neglect, or family instability. CASA volunteers are trained and appointed to advocate for a child’s best interests, help ensure their needs are heard, and provide steady support during some of the most difficult and uncertain moments in a young person’s life.

The cause is especially meaningful to the Huber family. Hope Sabrina’s mother, Amanda Huber, is an active CASA volunteer herself, giving the family a firsthand understanding of the program’s importance and the difference a dedicated advocate can make for a child.

“Food has a way of bringing people together around something larger than themselves,” said Chef Huber. “When a meal, a gathering, or a culinary experience can help support children and families in the community, that is exactly the kind of purpose hospitality should serve.”

Huber’s local roots run deep. Before her culinary and international food studies career, she was part of the Del Oro High School community, where she was known as a strong student, class president, scholar, and young community leader. Her return to support a Placer County cause reflects the kind of hometown giving that connects past, present, and future.

Today, Huber’s work is shaped by both local values and global training. She earned her Master’s degree from the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, where she studied sustainable food systems, agriculture, global food culture, and responsible hospitality. During her 2024 Master’s graduation ceremonies, she was officially honored and appointed as a North America Ambassador for the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Slow Food, and Slow Wine.

That education continues to influence how Huber thinks about food, community, and responsibility. Whether through plant-forward cooking, farm-to-table values, food education, or charitable giving, she sees hospitality as a way to connect people to land, culture, health, and care.

The CASA fundraiser also reflects the strength of Placer County’s community spirit, where volunteers, families, local businesses, and supporters come together to raise awareness and resources for children and youth who need advocacy, stability, and support.

For Chef Huber, the meaning of the contribution goes beyond the auction item.

“Hospitality is about care,” Huber said. “It is about paying attention, creating comfort, and making people feel seen. When that same spirit can support children and families who need advocacy, it becomes even more meaningful.”

As Northern California continues to grow as a destination for food, wine, farming, hospitality, and mission-driven dining, Huber believes chefs and food leaders have an opportunity to use their platforms for education, service, and community impact.

Her work reflects the kind of food-system impact that reaches beyond the kitchen — connecting culinary excellence with sustainability, education, community service, responsible hospitality, and support for children and families close to home.

“Cooking is not separate from community,” Huber said. “The choices we make around food — what we serve, how we gather, who we support, and what we teach — all matter.”

Sabrina Huber is a Northern California chef, Del Oro High School graduate, St. Mary’s College of California scholar, food sustainability advocate, and Master’s graduate of the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy. Also known formally as Hope “Sabrina” Huber, she is a chef at SingleThread in Healdsburg, and her work explores sustainable food systems, plant-forward cuisine, responsible hospitality, culinary education, food-to-glass pairing, non-alcoholic beverage development, and the emerging science of flavor, farming, fermentation, wellness, biodiversity, and the future of dining. Her approach reflects a deeper belief that food is not only cuisine, but a connection between land, culture, agriculture, health, hospitality, and community impact.

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