Traci Des Jardins facts for kids
Traci Des Jardins with Gary Danko in the background
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| Born | November 15, 1965 Firebaugh, California, U.S. |
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Previous restaurant(s)
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Television show(s)
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Award(s) won
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Traci Des Jardins is a famous American chef and restaurant owner. She used to own a well-known restaurant called Jardinière in San Francisco, California. It was a fancy place that served French-inspired California food.
Contents
About Traci Des Jardins
Early Life and Family
Traci Des Jardins grew up on a farm in Firebaugh, California. This town is close to Fresno. Her father's family came from a French-speaking group called the Acadians. Her mother's family was from Sonora, a state in Mexico.
Traci has many fond memories of her childhood. She especially remembers her grandmother, Angela Salazar, making fresh flour tortillas. Their family meals often included fresh vegetables from the garden. They also ate wild game from the land. These meals showed off her family's Mexican and French Acadian roots.
Becoming a Chef
Traci Des Jardins learned to cook in some of the best French restaurants. She trained at places like La Maison Troisgros. Later, she became the head chef at Patina in Los Angeles. This restaurant was owned by Joachim Splichal.
Before opening her own restaurant, Jardinière, in 1997, she worked at other famous San Francisco restaurants. These included Aqua, Elka, and Rubicon.
Cooking Style
Traci Des Jardins believes in using fresh, local ingredients. She tries to get organic and seasonal foods whenever she can. She prefers to buy from smaller farms and ranches. These places use sustainable farming methods. This means they farm in ways that protect the environment for the future.
Awards and Recognition
Traci Des Jardins has won many important awards for her cooking. In 2007, she won the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Chef: Pacific." This award is like the "Oscars" for chefs. In 1995, she was named the James Beard Foundation's "Rising Star Chef of the Year." This award goes to a chef who is new but very talented.
She also won "Best New Chef" from Food & Wine magazine. San Francisco magazine named her "Chef of the Year." Her restaurant, Jardinière, was called "Best New Restaurant" by Esquire magazine. It was also nominated for "Best New Restaurant" by the James Beard Foundation.
Television Appearances
Traci Des Jardins has appeared on several popular cooking shows.
- She competed on season 3 of Top Chef: Masters in 2011. She was one of the finalists.
- In 2005, she appeared on Iron Chef America. She won her cooking battle against famous chef Mario Batali.
- She also competed on The Next Iron Chef.
- Traci Des Jardins was a judge on Hell's Kitchen in 2018.
- She has also been a judge on Guy's Grocery Games.
Restaurants
Traci Des Jardins has owned and operated several restaurants. All of the restaurants listed below have now closed.
Closed Restaurants
- Jardinière (September 1997 – April 2019), San Francisco
- Public House (2010–2024), Oracle Park, San Francisco
- School Night (2018–2020), Dogpatch, San Francisco
- Mijita Cocina Mexicana (2004 – December 29, 2019), Ferry Building, San Francisco
- Mijita (2010–2015), Oracle Park, San Francisco
- Commissary (May 2014–2021), Presidio, San Francisco
- Arguello (2014–2021), Presidio, San Francisco
- Transit Café (April 2015 – November 2019), Presidio, San Francisco. This restaurant closed for a construction project.
- El Alto (2022), State Street Market, Los Altos, California. This restaurant closed in 2023.
