Chef Josh Brown

An eight-year restaurant veteran, Chef Josh Brown hails from Northern California. At eighteen he began cooking full-time and graduated the culinary program at Santa Barbara City College in 2000. Passion instilled, Josh went to work at some of the finer restaurants in Santa Barbara with the goal of one day opening his own, intimate fine dining restaurant.

In 2000, Chef Brown joined the staff at bouchon santa barbara, was quickly promoted to sous-chef and for the past two years has been preparing wine country cuisine on a nightly basis. "One of the best parts of being a chef in Santa Barbara is the availability of extremely fresh, high-quality ingredients, especially at the Farmer's Market," exclaims Chef Brown. Running the kitchen at bouchon since 2003, Josh enjoys working in a close, team-oriented environment. "Beyond the obvious passion for food and the guests who get excited about it, it's the people who share the space next to you on the line that makes chef work so rewarding".

"One of my favorite things about the kitchen at bouchon is the open line. I especially enjoy having guests come up to the window and say 'hello' and 'goodnight' and let me know how they enjoyed their dinner. It's cool that people know it's o.k. to approach the Chef and connect in a personal way."

Those before me who have paved the way- inspired me to become a Chef and influenced my decision to do so in the fine dining world- include Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Alice Waters. I'm especially appreciative of my time with Chef Charles Fredericks, says Chef Brown, who inspired me to "allow the food to tell me how to cook it."

Chef Brown dreams of owning his own restaurant one day. "I want to take advantage of the incredible bounty of local ingredients Santa Barbara has to offer", says Chef Brown, "and in a very small environment where I can create, design and cook a menu that allows me to get excited about chanterelles, favas, braising game and using sweetbreads!"

Professional highlights:

Working with Julia Child in a local charity cooking class
Cooking on the television shows "FoodNation" with Bobby Flay and "Bringing It Home with Laura McIntosh"
Teaching cooking classes on a frequent basis at bouchon santa barbara