Raised in a Dutch-Spanish household in Amsterdam, Sandra Cordero began spending summers in Galicia at age 11. “I was that kid who was always eating at the neighbor’s house because I loved trying all of the different recipes,” says Cordero. “My passion for food and hospitality started when I was very young.” In Spain, she helped on her grandparents’ farm, taking their six cows to pasture, gathering hay, and shelling peas. Those summers connected her to the land and taught her to pay attention to what was in season.
By age 15, Cordero was working in restaurants, primarily in the front of house. “When I finally went into the kitchen years later, I was like, ‘Oh, this is where I belong. These are my people,’” she says. At 18, she began discussing plans to open an Amsterdam bistro with a friend. Although the restaurant never materialized, Cordero went on to spend time in Paris, New York, Tokyo, and Los Angeles. Her culinary training included studies at the Basque Culinary Center in Spain and work in the kitchens of Neal Fraser’s Grace and Michael Cimarusti’s Providence.
In 2015, Cordero opened her first restaurant, Gasolina Cafe, in Woodland Hills. Its proximity to her home and her child’s preschool, along with its daytime hours, allowed her to balance restaurant ownership with motherhood. The Woodland Hills restaurant closed in January 2025, though Gasolina continues as a catering operation. In 2023, Cordero opened Xuntos, a Spanish tapas and pintxos bar in Santa Monica inspired by the food and dining culture of northern Spain.
