Staff
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Executive Chef: Joey Elenterio

Joey’s culinary career has been fast and full of promotions. On his sister’s recommendation, Joey was simply looking into attending culinary school, when he fell in love with cooking and enrolled immediately after high school at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Chef Joey loved the rush and competitiveness of cooking school; the idea of learning the same skills and fighting for the same spot was a constant motivation to hold himself to the highest standard. 

 

Joey’s career was launched while attending culinary school. He began working for Wolfgang Puck’s Spago in Palo Alto as a stage. Joey credits then Spago Chef, Aram Mardigian, with seeing his potential and paying special attention to him, teaching him everything he knows about being a restaurant chef. Joey was promoted steadily during the next three years at Spago, starting as a saucier and leaving as Banquet Chef when the restaurant closed in 2007. Joey worked for Rolland Passot and Brian Berling as Executive Chef of Tanglewood on Santana Row in San Jose before starting with Chez TJ as Sous Chef in 2009, becoming Executive Chef in 2011. Chef Joey has a straight-forward food philosophy: don’t over do it. Joey grew up eating simple food; mom’s pork chop and potatoes and hamburger pie. Many of his dishes are sparked by nature and the world around him. Following his belief that it is harder to show restraint, Joey’s menus let the ingredients do the talking; he surprises diners with a new spin on foods they might already know.

 

Joey loves being a chef most because he never stops learning and improving; he can never know enough about our dynamic culinary world. Born and raised in the South Bay, he now lives in San Francisco with fiance, a source of much inspiration, Jessamine.

Follow Chef Elenterio on Twitter for fun food notes, restaurant info, and updates! @jelenterio

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Sous Chef: Jeffrey Rhodes

 

 

Jeffrey's passion for cooking started after moving from his home in Nashville, TN to Portland, OR where he attended the Western Culinary Institute. In Portland, he learned the different flavors of the world by working in Indian and Cuban kitchens. After returning to Nashville to revisit and re-learn his southern roots, he worked in some of Nashville's top fine dining kitchens. Under Chef Tyler Brown of the Hermitage Hotel, he learned the importance of maintaining heirloom southern culture and farm to table cuisine.

 

After Jeffrey's stint back in the south, he decided to pack up once again and move back out west. Since being in California, he has staged in kitchens such as Aquarello, La Folie and Masa's just to name a few. He then landed a Chef de Tournant position at Saratoga's Plumed Horse under the tutelage of Chef Peter Armellino. There, Jeffrey truly refined his cooking style. Jeffrey continues to grow and learn every day. He believes there is always something new to discover.

 

"Food is an endless journey," says Jeffrey, "there's always something new around every corner... that can fit in the smoker."

 

Follow Jeffrey on Twitter for better food notes, restaurant info, and updates! @jrho23