Traci Des Jardins

Chef/Co-owner of Jardiniere and Mijita Cocina Mexicana
Chef/Partner of Public House and Manzanita
San Francisco, California
tracidesjardins.com

Celebration Weekend
June 4, 2011
Safeway Outdoor Kitchen Stage

Before opening Jardinière in San Francisco 13 years ago, chef Traci Des Jardins worked in some of the finest kitchens in Los Angeles, France, and New York City. She was raised on a farm in California’s San Joaquin Valley and developed a deep love for the earth and its bounty at an early age.

Since Jardinière opened its doors, Des Jardins has made it one of San Francisco’s most popular destinations. The San Francisco Chronicle has listed it as one of the ‘Top 100 Restaurants’ in the Bay Area each year since opening. In 2009, Des Jardins’s restaurant Manzanita opened in the new Ritz-Carlton Highlands in Lake Tahoe. The menu at Manzanita is a combination of Traci’s signature French-inspired California cuisine, with a regional mountain resort influence.

In 2004, Des Jardins opened Mijita Cocina Mexicana in the San Francisco Ferry Building and in 2010 the second location at AT&T Park. These restaurants combine the best of Bay Area seasonal and local ingredients with the traditional Mexican flavors of her youth. Des Jardins also serves as chef/partner for Public House located at AT&T Park.

Des Jardins won a James Beard Foundation Award in 2007 for ‘Best Chef: Pacific’ and she beat Mario Batali on the Food Network show Iron Chef America. Beyond the kitchen, Traci is a deeply committed activist and philanthropist.