Oleana “Ana” Sortun is a chef, restaurateur and author in the Boston area.[1]
Sortun was born in Seattle.[1][2]
After she graduated from La Varenne Ecole de Cuisine de Paris,[2] she came to Massachusetts to open Moncef Meddeb’s[3] Argo Bistro followed by stints, in the early 1990s, at 8 Holyoke and Casablanca, both in Harvard Square. The eponymous Oleana opened in 2001.[1]
Her husband, Chris Kurth, owns Siena Farms, named after their daughter.
In addition to Oleana, she opened Sofra Bakery with a partner Maura Kilpatrick in 2008. The idea behind Sofra was to have both a retail store and an "informal Middle Eastern café."[1] the farm supplies produce for Oleana. It is located in Sudbury, Massachusetts, and it is where they live.[4]
2013 was when she partnered with Chef de Cuisine Cassie Piuma to open a Meyhane named Sarma in Somerville, Massachusetts.[1]
Sortun received the 2005 James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast.[1]