Leslie McKenna

Leslie's passion for food began in childhood, growing up across the street from a neighbor's massive garden, helping her plant, harvest, cook and preserve all of the amazing produce she grew. It was a wonder to plant a simple little seed and watch it grow into something you could harvest and create beautiful dishes with. Her parents were also great cooks, her mom was always testing out new recipes on our family, (some great, some not so good), but teaching us not to be afraid to be creative and try new things.

In high school she knew she wanted to go to culinary school and applied to Johnson & Wales Culinary Institute in Providence RI. After completing a 2-year associates degree, she moved to Manhattan to pursue her dream of being a chef. Her first job was at Maxwell Plum's Restaurant, (sister restaurant to Tavern on the Green in Central Park), where she found herself working alongside Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton (Le Brea Bakery) in midtown Manhattan, where she learned how to make fresh pasta. From there she started working at a high-end steak house called Jakes, where she became the Sous Chef.

After 3½ years in Manhattan, she left the east coast and moved to Los Angeles and began working for Piero Selvaggio at Primi Restaurant. After a year she went to work at Valentino's as the Executive Pastry Chef. Piero brought in Pastry Chef Françoise Benoit — Pastry Chef at Le Doyen and Joël Robuchon Restaurants in Paris — to train her in pastry. While working at Valentino's she was published in several magazines, including Bon Appétit, Wine Spectator, Finnish Magazine, Best of California, and Home and Décor.

After she left Valentino's she went into the private chef world, working for celebrities like Bob Hope, Aaron Spelling, Tim Allen, Christine Divine (Fox News), and Producer David Nutter (The Sopranos), among many others. She also had the opportunity to cook for 3 Presidents, Ambassadors, and Political Dignitaries, developing extensive training in specific dietary needs and health-related menus.

From there she opened a cooking school in Los Angeles, Chef's Inc., which included a catering company and bakery. She was then hired as a Food Consultant and Chef Expert for Simply Salad Restaurant Group, creating all their menus and recipes — currently 13 stores.

In 2015 she moved to the Central Coast, Cambria California, where she now hosts private 9 to 10 course full sensory tasting menu dinners in her private greenhouse, surrounded by her beautiful garden where she grows much of the food, herbs, and flowers she uses on her menus. Each menu honors seasonal ingredients that are locally sourced, finding only the highest quality to create her masterpieces. Food must be as beautiful as it is delicious.

She has always believed you can heal people with food, and now is not only using food as medicine but has taken the next step — becoming a certified Level 3 Advanced Biofield Tuning practitioner and sound healer.