Here, we present our list of the best chefs in Los Angeles this year. Now it isn’t at all surprising that a city as vibrant and multicultural as Los Angeles is filled with culinary diversity. And the city’s also quite influential, globally. Plus, it’s exciting and filled with so many tourist destinations, including Hollywood.
All this stuff continues to make Los Angeles popular all around the world as a foodie capital. You can find various restaurants here, including diners, high-end restaurants, fast-food chains, and food trucks —Your culinary options are seemingly endless here.
So we decided to create a list of the top chefs in Los Angeles. Some of them are currently working in the city but live outside Los Angeles, while a few are long-time residents. And we did extensive research to identify the most famous ones. This included watching plenty of clips on Youtube, reading food-centric magazines, browsing through cooking websites, asking our peers for their experience and insights, and of course, testing what their restaurants are currently offering. That’s also why a lot of the chefs that you’ll find in this list are mostly familiar names in the industry, especially if you’re fond of watching TV shows or Youtube channels about food and cooking. And here you go:
Top Chefs in Los Angeles
Niki Nakayama
Born in 1975, Nakayama is famous for her n/Naka Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles. Here, they specialize in kaiseki cuisine, which is a type of multi-course Japanese dinner. Food & Wine magazine recently named Nakayama’s restaurant as one of the best dining spots of 2019. In the same year, they were awarded two Michelin stars.
Wolfgang Puck
Wolfgang Puck is perhaps one of the most famous chefs around today. He’s the head chef of the popular restaurant Spago, which is located in Hollywood and is always frequented by celebrities. Puck is also the official chef of the Oscars’ annual Governors’ Ball. Aside from Spago, his other restaurants include Granita, Cut, and Chinois on Main, among others.
Curtis Stone
An Australian chef, Stone owns 2 restaurants in Los Angeles. These are Maude, which has garnered one Michelin star, and Gwen, which he opened back in 2016. The former has a renowned tasty menu, while the latter is more of a butcher shop and restaurant.
Rick Bayless
Bayless is an American chef who specializes in traditional Mexican cuisine, giving it a modern twist. His parents were restaurant owners too, while his brother is a famous sportscaster. Bayless’s most famous restaurant is Frontera Grill, which has been in operation since 1987. His other restaurants are Lena Brava, Xoco, and Topolobampo.
Ludo Lefebvre
Lefebvre is a French chef currently based in Los Angeles. He has appeared in several TV shows and reality competition shows, such as Iron Chef America and The Taste. He is also famous for his LudoBites restaurant tour and owns 2 restaurants in Los Angeles, Petit Trois, and Trois Mec.
We also sought the help of experts in the Los Angeles culinary scene. Others in our group are lucky enough to have been to Los Angeles, or live nearby. So they got the opportunity to again eat in the restaurants we mentioned earlier, as part of our tests.
Some of the chefs we mentioned are new to the industry. But despite this, they’ve garnered quite a following in and out of the city. So that’s why we included them in our list of the 5 best chefs in Los Angeles this year.