Chefs To Watch

Dana Cespedes

Conchetta; Silver Lake

With long, auburn locks too beautiful to trim and too wild to contain with a hairnet, chef Dana Cespedes has managed to not only incorporate loose strands of hair into her dishes but to turn them into the star of the show. From succulent hair-wrapped scallops to hair two ways over mushroom and hair polenta, Cespedes is revolutionizing the way we think about consuming other people’s hair.

Glenn Posta

Propre; Culver City

After losing both of her parents to salmonella poisoning as a child, Chef Posta has made a name for herself as LA’s cleanest chef, requiring employees to wash their hands for 90 seconds after every step in preparing and cooking the driest chicken breast in the country.

Polina Boykov

whereabouts unknown

This LA-born-and-bred hotshot has taken the culinary scene by storm without even opening her first restaurant. The innovative chef is known for showing up unannounced at LA’s fine dining establishments, pulling out a gun, and telling everyone to get down and turn over the kitchen to her. Diners lucky enough to have had their meals taken over by Chef Boykov say it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience with multilayered pan-Asian creations that are worth the heart-pounding stress and pleas for mercy.

Maxwell Carlsby

Sturm; Palms

Widely regarded as the worst chef in Los Angeles, Chef Carlsby is unable to exit his kitchen and enter the dining room without being pummeled by a chorus of boos from patrons. Despite the eviscerating reviews and near constant heckling by his own staff, Carlsby has earned our respect by trudging through the sea of jeers for more than a decade, churning out meals to spite the masses who expected him to quit or kill himself long ago.

Joseph Ratzinger

Cienfuegos; Playa Del Rey

After giving up his high-powered career six years ago to chase his childhood dream, Chef Ratzinger has defied the critics and the odds by becoming one of the most daring and imaginative masters of Cuban fare in Los Angeles.

Kimberly Chong-Stefans

Butter; Echo Park

Sired by two-time James Beard Award–winning pastry chef Hamish Chong and Michelin-recognized pâtissier Deborah Stefans, the young Chong-Stefans has the pedigree of a world-class confectioner. Her brother, famed baker Kyle Chong-Stefans, fetched a $500,000 fee when he was put out to stud last year.


Runners-Up

Jose Walker

Hunt/Gathr; Beverly Hills
Famous not only for the unsurpassed quality of his meals but also for the lengthy interval between each one, Walker is an avowed perfectionist who spends years tweaking each individual entree before it is ready for consumption. Rumor has it that in late 2019 Walker will finally debut his latest masterpiece, a shepherd’s pie ordered by Farrah Fawcett.

Gregory Knezz

Butterfly; Eagle Rock
Since exploding onto the scene five years ago with a host of disruptive new ideas about how to spatchcock a bird, Chef Knezz has only strengthened his spatchcocking reputation and cemented himself as the culinary world’s undisputed king of spatchcocking. There’s no poultry that Knezz can’t spatchcock in two seconds flat before slapping it on the grill for a nice, even cook. Spatchcock aficionados will already know his name, but for the uninitiated, get ready to be spatchcocked by his brilliance.

Michel Levesque

Digestif; Hancock Park
A master chef by anyone’s definition, Levesque nevertheless loves stepping away from the stove and chatting with his many customers, who, after 15 minutes, cannot help but wonder who’s preparing their food, how long their food will be delayed, and whether making conversation with this childless and love-starved man is going to ruin their appetites altogether.

Dame Margot Jones

Windsor; Downtown
The longtime personal chef to Queen Elizabeth II has finally branched out on her own with a brand-new sports bar in DTLA that features some of the dishes she perfected under the Queen’s employ, such as pulled pork sliders, hearty mac and cheese pizza, and Her Majesty’s personal favorite, the “garbage taco bowl.”