Staff Bios

Chef Hendricks’ Bio:

I was born and raised on the central coast of California, amidst beautiful local produce and the privilege of San Luis Obispo county wine country. I started cooking at home when I was about 8 out of interest and started to really contribute in the kitchen to help out my two working parents when I was about 12. I moved to San Diego in 2002 to attend UCSD and upon graduation I realized that getting a job was a whole lot harder than they had been telling me. After furiously searching for a starting block for my career for 4 months, a friend said that the catering company he worked for needed some part time help. I started as a dishwasher that was filling in for a couple of weeks and I ended up filling roles of server, busboy, bartender, prep cook, catering manager and contributing ideas and assistance in the kitchen as an associate chef of sorts. Since then, I have been working in financial advising operations and compliance but virtually all of my spare time has been spent reading cookbooks, watching too much Food Network, scouring markets for new things and trying to make every dish new and exciting.

My techniques at a glance:

Most experience: BBQ, Thai, Cajun/Creole, Mexican and the nebulous genre affectionately referred to as Cal-Asian Fusion.

Competencies: French, Italian, Indian, and Chinese.

Some experience/understanding: Japanese, German, Irish, and Afghani.

Specialties: Tri-Tip (of course), ribs, fiery curries and salsa.

Related training/experience: wine, cheese.

Heroes: Thomas Keller, Masaharu Morimoto, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Chef Cherry’s Bio:

I was born in San Luis Obispo, California, and grew up on an organic produce farm among vineyards surrounding Arroyo Grande and Edna, California. I began cooking at age 9, when my mother and grandmother began teaching me the basics of Filipino cookery. I received my first set of chef’s whites at age 12, unaware that it was actually a test of my cleanliness in the kitchen in disguise. From age 11, I helped my family run produce stands at San Luis Obispo County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County Farmer’s Markets. It was at these markets that I developed an appreciation for amazing, local ingredients. To this day, I have yet to find strawberries, carrots, leeks, beets, or artichokes like the ones from my childhood. I moved to San Diego in 2003 to pursue a degree in Journalism, which I earned in 2007. I recently departed Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, due largely to coursework in medical herbs that I couldn’t use in dishes, and a tendency to read cookbooks during lectures.

My techniques at a glance:

Most experience: Filipino, French, Italian

Competencies: American, Japanese, Chinese, Thai.

Some experience/understanding: Spanish, Contemporary Cuisine, Desserts

Specialties: Tri-Tip (I’m from SLO County), Pork Adobo, Pancit, Pasta.

Related training/experience: Produce inspection.

Heroes: Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Grant Achatz, Michel Richard, Wylie Dufresne.