What Los Angeles Chef Parents Did For a Living

Chef Los Angeles

Ricardo Zarate's mom spent time in the Peruvian military.

At The Taste on August 31, I asked 14 of the best Los Angeles chefs a single question: “What did your parents do for a living?” Their answers might surprise you.

Ricardo Zarate (Mo-Chica, Paiche + Picca)

My mom was in the military. In the army of the house, she was the general, a housewife. My dad was a carpenter. In tough times, he was also a taxi driver and was also cooking at home…He loved to cook. Amazing Peruvian soups…I make them at home. I never make them in the restaurants, but I love those soups.

Sang Yoon (Father’s Office, Helms Bakery + Lukshon)

My dad was my a newspaper publisher, and my mom worked in fashion. She worked for Chanel.

Brooke Williamson + Nick Roberts (Hudson House, Playa Provisions + The Tripel)

Williamson: My mother is a fine artist. She does ceramics and graphic art. My father is a photographer.

Roberts: My father is a general contractor, and my mother is his partner.

Ernesto Uchimura (Plan Check Bar)

My dad worked for a telephone company as an installer, and my mom works at a bank.

Jet Tila (The Charleston + Kuma Snow Cream)

You know my story. My parents had markets, restaurants, wholesale and produce companies…I was free labor for 20 years.

Nancy Silverton (Mozza Restaurant Group)

My father, who is alive, is a lawyer. My mother, who’s not alive, was a television writer. She wrote for “General Hospital” and did some movies of the week.

Jimmy Shaw (Loteria Grill)

My mother was a teacher, and then she was a mom. She spent a lot of the time in the kitchen, cooking. My dad ran a big car parts manufacturing company in Mexico. He made things like pistons and pins and valves and crank shafts and that kind of stuff.

Mirko Paderno (Oliverio)

Right now, they just enjoy traveling. My mom, she used to work in an office for about 25 years. My dad is an architect and designed a lot of stuff in Milan. Now they just enjoy their life.

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Joshua Lurie

Joshua Lurie founded FoodGPS in 2005. Read about him here.

Blog Comments

Great article! Fun and charming

Christy, thanks for reading!

broken link to the next page

mattatouille, fixed, and thanks for the head’s up.

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