Recipe by Craig Cowling, chef/owner, O’Brothers The whole concept for our restaurant started in my backyard. We had a party and I was grilling up these organic burgers and my brother Derek kept noticing people’s …

Recipe by Ricardo Heredia, executive chef, Alchemy What I make depends on how I feel that day. I love Latin food. Anything South American. My grandmother was Mexican, so I grew up with Mexican food …

Recipe by Matt Richman, executive chef, Market Street Café. I like the colors and freshness of food. The simplicity of it. That’s really where it’s at, I think. In a perfect world, I would love …

Recipe by Patrick Ponsaty, executive chef, Bernard’O Restaurant As a fifth-generation chef, my father didn’t give me another choice or allow me to take another direction. He owned a restaurant in Cazeres, France. I started …

Recipe from Chris Idso, executive chef, Pacifica Del Mar One of my biggest accomplishments as a chef has been to use the local food that grows in San Diego. It was a challenge when I …

Recipe by John Skorepa, executive chef, Pomegranate Russian-Georgian Restaurant I have a long and checkered career. After graduating from San Diego State with a BS in biology, I worked in the plumbing and mechanical business …

It’s late October and I am looking for a turkey, which is ironic. A decade ago, when I was a SWF, all I could find were turkeys. For a while, I even dated one. But …

Recipe by Chef Martin Woesle, executive chef, Mille Fleurs. I grew up on a dairy farm, and my mom cooked every day for our family of six. We only went out to eat for very …

Recipe by William Bradley, executive chef, Addison Back when I started, I worked in an Italian restaurant in Bonita. I did it for the money. But, eventually, I fell in love with cooking — the …

Recipe by Chef Bernard Guillas, executive chef, the Marine Room My grandmother was the root of this madness I would say, this passion for food. I lived with her in Brittany until I was six …

Recipe by Jack Jaroen, executive chef, Lanna Thai I grew up in Bangkok with three siblings. My mom was always in the kitchen preparing and cooking for us. At dinnertime, we all helped out in …

Recipe by Gerald Warner, executive sushi chef, Café Japengo Cooking is a family thing for me. We live in a cul de sac, so sometimes the neighbors come over, too. A lot of times, I …

Recipe by David Warner, executive chef, JRDN Restaurant I always wanted to be a rock star. Cooking was the last thing on my list. As a kid, I couldn’t cook. I would burn water. But …

Recipe by Chris Walsh, executive chef, Bite. Back in the ’80s, when I was executive chef at California Cuisine, cooking went through this really exciting time. All of a sudden there was Alice Waters and …

Recipe by Jason Knibb, executive chef, Nine-Ten Restaurant I got into cooking because I used to surf in the day and needed a night job. One day, a friend of mine asked me to fill …

Recipe from Kirti Srivastava Honestly, I grew up in the restaurant. We’ve had it since I was little, when my parents came to San Diego from Uttar Pradesh to help my uncle. At the time, …

Recipe by Jay Payne, executive chef, Café Japengo. What really started me cooking was that both my parents worked, so my job was to start dinner. Many times I just ended up cooking dinner. My …

Recipe by Paul McCabe, executive chef, Kitchen 1540. I grew up in a family where my mom didn’t work out of the home. She was a good country cook — actually, one of the last. …

by Paul Mccabe, Executive Chef, Kitchen 1540 I grew up in a family where my mom didn’t work out of the home. She was a good country cook — actually, one of the last. I …

Recipe by Nathan Coulon, executive chef, Quarter Kitchen. I started cooking before I can remember. My grandparents owned the Belgian Lion in Ocean Beach and my mom is a pastry chef, so it definitely runs …

Recipe by Mark Kropczynski, executive chef, Grant Grill. My kids (aged 15 and 9) will eat whatever I put in front of them. They’ve had duck confit, lobster, chanterelles, and all kinds of fish. We …

Recipe by Christopher Lee, consulting chef, Suite & Tender. The thing about food that people don’t realize is that we’re all involved with it — either consciously or subconsciously because you have to survive. I …

There are times, sometimes in the midst of otherwise polite conversation, when it comes out that I make my living writing for the Reader. The follow-up to this revelation is almost never “Oh, that’s right, …

Recipe by John Robert Kennedy, executive chef, The Better Half. I started cooking growing up. At big family gatherings, I was always in the kitchen. When you were brought into my household, into my family, …

2 oz. orange vodka 3 oz. pomegranate juice Fresh mint leaves to garnish Pour vodka and pomegranate juice into a cocktail shaker and add ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a chilled Martini glass. Garnish …

Recipe by Dean Thomas, executive chef, Barona Valley Ranch Resort & Casino. I started out as a dishwasher for an Italian chef. One day, his cook didn’t show up and he said, “Come on over …

Recipe from Sahar Nashashibi, chef, Fairouz (story told by daughter Haya). My mom has always had a feel for cooking, even when she was young. Her mom — my grandmother — was a great cook …

Recipe from Amy Dibiase, former executive chef, Roseville. I have been cooking since a very young age. A lot of pasta and gnocchi. Soups and stews. I grew up in a very large Italian family, …

Recipe by Danny Bannister, executive chef, Red Marlin. I’ve been a chef my whole life. It’s always been inside me. My mom hates it, but I attribute it to her because she’s not that good …

Recipe by Jeff Rossman, executive chef, Terra. I learned to cook on the job. My dad opened up Pam Pam Café and Grill in Hotel Circle, and I managed the floor at night. During the …

Recipe by Gordon Smith, private chef and former owner/chef, Gordon’s Basil St. Cafe. I’ve always been a chef in San Diego for San Diego. In the ’90s, Basil St. Café was one of the first …

Recipe by Victor Jimenez, executive chef, Cowboy Star. The idea for Cowboy Star came from my partner Jon. When he told me this idea, I was taken aback at first. Then he started to describe …

Recipe by Benjamin Moore, executive chef, Parallel 33. I like to take everyday food and pair it in unique ways people wouldn’t think of. I taste something and think, Oh my gosh, this would go …

Recipe by Jim Pearson, Sous Chef, Rice I love Asian food. All types, especially Thai, such as seafood and pho. I love spice. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I was always surrounded by Asian …

Recipe by Marguerite Grifka, the Starlite. I have always been an avid home cook. I would characterize my food philosophy as using the best, freshest ingredients and highlighting the natural flavors. I try to screw …

Recipe by Joe Magnanelli, executive chef, Laurel Restaurant. I’m a self-taught cook. I never went to culinary school, even though I worked at some very established restaurants, such as those in the Ritz-Carlton and the …

Recipe by Brian Malarkey, Oceanaire Restaurant. I became a chef after a lot of trial and error with other professions. The culinary major came after the business, history, theater, and liberal arts majors. When I …

Recipe by Matt Gordon, Urban Solace. I got into cooking as a way of self-defense growing up. I worked in restaurants in high school and stayed in it through college, as a sous chef. I …

Recipe by Ryan Johnston, executive chef, Whisknladle. Basil Pesto Ingredients: Serves 4–6 10 1/2 oz blanched fresh basil2 oz mortared peeled garlic5 oz grated Parmesan cheese3 oz toasted pine nuts20 oz extra virgin olive oilLasagna …

Recipe by Martin Gonzalez, executive chef, Acqua Al 2. I really like to cook — at home or at a friend’s house. Even when I’m invited to a barbecue, I manage to take over the …

Recipe by Hanis Cavin, Chef de Cuisine, Kensington Grill. I work a lot, usually about 75 hours a week. During “Restaurant Week” I broke 100, so I cook very little at home. I don’t get …

Recipe by Matt Gardner, owner of Bronx Pizza, Hillcrest. Every Sunday is pasta day, so that’s probably my favorite thing to make. I make my traditional pasta sauce with sausage. I start it in the …

Recipe by Gilberto Villareal, Chef, Parkhouse Eatery. I like cooking meat with crazy sauces. Sometimes rib-eyes. Sometimes ribs or pork tenderloins with pomegranate balsamic vinaigrette. But I like breakfast too. The Parkhouse Benedict is a …

Recipe by Paul Niles, executive chef, Thee Bungalow. I have appreciated cooking all of my life. When I was growing up, we sat down and had dinner together every night, so that was kind of …

Recipe by Trey Foshee, executive chef, George’s at the Cove I cook at home just like everyone else cooks at home — I look in the fridge and see what’s in there. But I have …

Recipe by Stéphane Voitzwinkler, executive chef, Bertrand at Mister A’s I am from Alsace-Lorraine, which is east of Paris, so I am a country boy. I am very simple and live a simple life. I …

Recipe by Deborah Scott, executive chef at Island Prime, Kemo Sabe, and Indigo Grill. I’m from the South, so I love ribs and side dishes like spoon bread, which hardly anyone out here is familiar …

Recipe by Christian Graves, executive chef, JSix Restaurant. I like to cook whole things — chickens, ducks, fish. Whatever the boys will eat. If my kids have some part in the whole act, they are …

By half past nine, all of the pool tables at Bar Leucadian are taken, and fortysomething couples line the bar like birds on a wire. They are exposing an inordinate amount of cleavage and chest …

When I was 28, and a man much too old for me had again broken my heart, I spent most of my free time in the car, as if I could outrun my sadness. Many …