Before opening Jardinière in San Francisco just over a decade 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. Though she never had a job in a restaurant before, through sheer determination she landed a tryout with Joachim Splichal, then at 7th Street Bistro in Los Angeles. Within two weeks she was running a station in the kitchen. In Splichal’s kitchen she worked in an environment with uncompromising standards of excellence and discipline that spurred her to further hone her craft in France where she apprenticed with legendary chefs including Michel and Pierre Troisgros, Alain Senderens, Alain Ducasse, and Alain Passard.

Since Jardinière opened its doors, Traci has made it one of San Francisco’s most popular destinations. And she has earned a great number of accolades for her French-California cuisine, while at Rubicon in 1995 she won the James Beard Foundation’s ‘Rising Star Chef of the Year’, Food & Wine Magazine’s ‘Best New Chef’, San Francisco Magazine’s ‘Chef of the Year’ and the James Beard Foundation Award in 2007 for ‘Best Chef: Pacific’. Jardiniere won Esquire Magazine’s ‘Best New Restaurant,’ a nomination by the James Beard foundation for ‘Best New Restaurant’ in 1999 and the San Francisco Chronicle has listed it as one of the ‘Top 100 Restaurants’ in the Bay Area each year since opening. In addition, she bested Iron Chef Mario Batali on the Food Network show Iron Chef America.

In 2004, Traci opened Mijita Cocina Mexicana in the San Francisco Ferry Building, combining the best of Bay Area seasonal and local ingredients with the traditional Mexican flavors of her youth. She also serves as managing chef for The Public House located at the home of the San Francisco Giants baseball stadium.

Beyond the kitchen, Traci is a deeply committed activist and philanthropist. She works with hunger-relief organizations such as Share Our Strength, Citymeals On-Wheels, and Wine. Dine. Donate, and is a former board member of La Cocina, a San Francisco Bay Area food service incubator. Traci joined the advisory board of the Bocuse d’Or USA to join fellow chefs in the quest to elevate culinary excellence in the United States.