Rising Star Chef Jessica Largey of Manresa - Biography

Jessica Largey can trace her culinary roots back to an early childhood experience. While watching her mom make scrambled eggs one morning, Largey took in every detail and recreated the dish on her own the next day. From that moment she was interested in everything that went on in the kitchen, gaining many early culinary skills from cooking lessons with her grandmother.

A Southern California native, Largey got her first professional gig as an intern at Los Angeles’s Providence. Her attention to detail helped earn a position as line cook, where she worked with 2004 Los Angeles Rising Star Michael Cimarusti, furthering her training and skill in fish cookery. Cimarusti encouraged Largey to pursue a stage at Heston Blumenthal’s iconic The Fat Duck, where she helped with prep for the busy kitchen and worked the garde manger station.

Returning to Los Angeles, Largey accepted the role of opening chef at LAMILL Coffee Boutique, a coffee house opened by the team behind Providence. That year, Largey was introduced to Chef David Kinch at a Providence special event, which led to a stage at Manresa. Largey was drawn to Kinch’s philosophy and his relationship with Love Apple Farms, the restaurant’s exclusive farm partner. After working at West Hollywood’s Bastide, where she managed the fish side of the kitchen, Largey decided to move to Northern California to work at Manresa. After three years of working alongside Kinch, Largey was promoted to chef de cuisine in 2011 and continues to bring a fresh outlook and soulful approach to the produce-driven, naturalistic menu.