The Work behind the Work

Rooms We Have Lived In

A working life, not a trophy wall. What follows is the range we bring back to the place in front of you.

Azmin and Laura

Evora is Azmin and Laura Ghahreman. They have been in business together since 1998, and have raised four children while opening rooms, running kitchens, and building companies.

Azmin has spent that life as a chef, an owner, and a concept developer — international hotels, including multiple Four Seasons properties, an award-winning restaurant and catering business of his own in Laguna Beach, CA, school lunch programs at scale, clubs, cruise ships, and senior meal programs. Laura has spent it writing the language, teaching the people, and doing whatever the room required that day: the floor of the Ritz-Carlton Sydney during the 2000 Games, classrooms, and the studio communications that still carry the work.

The household and the work were never two calendars. What they learned at their own table went into the rooms they built. What they learned in those rooms came back to the house.

Resume Available Upon Request

Ours is not a complete working life. It is the rooms and the marks that still teach us something.

Companies & Rooms

Ventures we built

  • Blue Stone Kitchen — retail line and cloud kitchen, Costa Mesa
  • Dellah Global Kitchen — retail product development
  • Sapphire Culinary Group, San Juan Capistrano
  • Sapphire Laguna and Sapphire Pantry, Laguna Beach
  • Sapphire Catering
  • Sapphire at Work — workplace dining, Orange County
  • Sapphire at School — school meals across ten Orange County campuses

Restaurants we opened or ran

  • Kables, The Regent Sydney
  • Faces Café, Sunnyvale
  • On the Ritz Restaurant, Sunnyvale
  • Motif, The St. Regis, Monarch Beach

Hotels and resorts

  • St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa, Monarch Beach
  • The Grand America, Salt Lake City
  • The Regent Sydney, a Four Seasons Hotel
  • The Regent Kuala Lumpur, a Four Seasons Hotel
  • Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, Hawai‘i Island
  • Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul
  • Four Seasons Hotel Singapore
  • Four Seasons Resort Maui, Wailea
  • Four Seasons Hotel, Kailua-Kona
  • Halekulani Hotel, Honolulu
  • Fairmont Hotel, San Jose
  • Fairmont Hotel, Dallas
  • Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Sydney
  • Grand Hotel Bellevue, Gstaad
  • Holiday Inn, Milpitas

Clubs, workplaces, ships, and programs

  • Masimo Technology Cafe — corporate dining
  • Mission Viejo Country Club
  • Sherwood Country Club
  • El Niguel Country Club
  • Pine Island Country Club
  • Poppy Hills Golf Course
  • Crystal Cruises — Tastes Restaurant
  • Age Well — senior dining (congregate and home-delivered)
  • MaxLove Project Farm to Fork Dinners
  • Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup USA 2023

Recognition and accomplishments

Marks and judging

  • Wine Spectator Award — wine list, Sapphire Laguna
  • Kables named Best Hotel Restaurant in Sydney by The Daily Telegraph
  • White House Certificate of Appreciation, August 2002
  • Preferred chef for visiting heads of state, including five U.S. Presidents
  • Malaysian National Culinary Team, 1997–1998 — Salon Culinaire Singapore, two medals
  • United Nations Food and Art Festival, 1997 — Malaysian Tourism Board promotion; led a team of eight chefs
  • Chief Judge, Sydney Morning Herald Cheese Awards, 1999 and 2000
  • Co-partner, American Cheese Awards, Orange County, 2007
  • Honorary judge for culinary competitions internationally
  • Guest chef appearances, Crystal Cruises

Professional bodies

  • Director of Public Relations, Singapore Chefs Association, 1995–1996
  • Member, World Association of Cooks Societies (WACS), 1993–1999
  • Member, Research Chefs Association, 2020–2025
  • Past member, Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, Laguna Beach Chapter

Service that belongs next to the work

  • Organizing board member, Sapphire Nutritional Board, 2009–2025
  • Founder, School Farmer’s Market initiative, Orange County, 2009–2025
  • Board member, GRIP (Gang Reduction and Intervention Partnership), Orange County, 2021–2025
  • Past board member, Miracles for Kids
  • Ongoing support: MaxLove Project, Miracles for Kids, Father Serra’s Food Pantry, CHOC, JDRF, 2002–2025

Press that named the work

  • Orange County Business Journal — Top OC 500
  • Orange County Register — Top 100 Influential Business People
  • OC Metro — Top 25 People in OC
  • Laguna Beach Magazine — Most Influential People; culinary profile
  • Parenting OC — Local Hero

Places We've Been

The rooms behind us inform the work. The place in front of you is the one that matters. ~ Laura