2011 Chefs Hall of fame

The Votes Are In

For the second year in a row, San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles asked top local professional chefs to choose their favorite San Diego chefs for our Chefs Hall of Fame. It’s a task, but one they relished because as professional chefs they understand that a great meal — like a career — is a sum of many parts.

 

The peer-to-peer countywide ballots produced a few surprises, the biggest eye-opener for our editors being the induction of a world-class catering chef. Once the ballots were counted, we realized quality cuisine was not limited to within the walls of a public restaurant kitchen. And that lesson proves San Diego area chefs are true to their reputation for independence, innovation and creative boldness.

Out of the 13 finalists only the three top vote getters have been inducted into our 2011 Chefs Hall of Fame — Martin Woesle of Mille Fleurs, Andrew Spurgin of Waters Fine Catering and Jeff Jackson of A.R. Valentien. These chosen few come from varied backgrounds, but our Hall of Fame trio shares a passion for cooking with the freshest ingredients available from regional farms, orchards and the Pacific Ocean.

In all, more than 50 chefs cast some 150 votes. As the winning three, Woesle, Jackson and Spurgin have become permanent members of San Diego’s Chefs Hall of Fame Advisory Board and, as such, will be ineligible to receive votes in ensuing years. However, they may continue to cast their votes in future Chefs Hall of Fame elections.

We thank all our participating chefs, especially our 2011 finalists, for taking part in this second annual Chefs Hall of Fame poll. Of the final baker’s dozen, many were separated by only a few votes from being inducted, which is highly encouraging for them next year. The 2011 finalists were: Bernard Guillas/Marine Room; Deborah Scott/Island Prime: Brian Sinnott/1500 Ocean; Clay Bordan/Clay’s La Jolla; Christian Graves/JSix; Ryan Johnston/Whisknladle; Paul McCabe/Kitchen 1540; Jack Fisher/Nine-Ten; William Bradley/Addison and Patrick Ponsaty/Mistral Loews.

MARTIN WOESLE

Mille Fleurs

Mille Fleurs is synonymous both with one of the most elegant dining establishments in San Diego County and with Chef Martin Woesle, who has written menus daily for the plush Rancho Santa Fe caravansary since restaurateur Bertrand Hug assumed ownership in 1985. Woesle, a German-born culinary artist whose muse sings in French, locally pioneered the farm-to-table concept when he insisted on daily purchases of the very finest produce from Rancho Santa Fe’s internationally recognized Chino Farms.

Fruits and vegetables with lesser pedigrees can try sneaking through Woesle’s kitchen door, but they won’t make it.

“It’s always been my philosophy to get fresh food daily,” says Woesle, who trained under Chef Eckart Witzigmann at Munich’s venerable Aubergine, and later worked at the celebrated Ma Maison in Los Angeles. “Buying small quantities means that everything is used up that day. Nothing sits around, everything always is the best.”

Today, Woesle enjoys the respect of his peers, both locally and at pinnacles of the trade like the James Beard Foundation, which honored him as a Great Regional Chef in America.

 

 

ANDREW SPURGIN

Waters Fine Catering

Widely regarded as an industry leader and long-time executive director/chef at San Diego’s Waters Fine Catering, Andrew Spurgin has been honored repeatedly for his innovative cuisine, and in 2004 was named nationally as Caterer of the Year. An early advocate of maintaining renewable world supplies of important food stocks, he frequently lectures on sustainability and is co-founder of Passionfish, an aquaculture educational program.

Born in England, Spurgin came to America in 1974 and subsequently championed ecologically savvy and organic California-raised foods. “What’s so inspiring is the amazing cornucopia of local farmers and ranchers, who in turn supply 50 farmers’ markets in the county. We can all be proud of that.”

As a youth, he worked at a relative’s London restaurant and butcher shop, and at London’s historic Borough Market, where he discovered the riches of foods grown by small local purveyors.

Since assuming his role at Waters Fine Catering, he has faced the challenges of preparing sumptuous dinners for events honoring Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev of the former Soviet Union, Yitzhak Peres of Israel and California Governors Pete Wilson and Gray Davis.

 

 

 

JEFF JACKSON

A.R. Valentien

 

Executive Chef Jeff Jackson has been with Evans Hotels, owners of The Lodge at Torrey Pines, since day one in 2003. He oversees the cuisine at the hotel’s signature restaurant, A.R. Valentien, two chic lounges and a casual restaurant, The Grill, as well as meeting and banquet facilities.

Jeff Jackson’s career spans more than 30 years. A graduate of the cutting-edge Hyde Park campus of the Culinary Institute of America, Jackson long has been a trendsetter in writing daily menus driven by not only the finest foodstuffs available, but especially by organic products that reflect the season.

Jackson is grateful for his and The Lodge’s relationship with local farmers and other local suppliers. “Being able to change the menu daily with these superb local ingredients has been enlightening, in a sense,” says the tall, lanky Oklahoman. “I can’t see cooking any other way.”

As a young chef, Jackson also trained with legendary French expert Jean LaFont and later under the celebrated Jean Banchet at Chicago’s Le Français.

In 1989, Jackson brought his career to the boil by representing the U.S. at the ne plus ultra of international culinary competitions, the Bocuse d’Or staged biannually in Lyon, France. He has not looked back since.

Complements of: San Diego Home / Garden Lidestyle

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