JOSEPH GILLARD Executive Chef
Before the Food Network and celebrity chefs, Joseph Gillard found inspiration from the earlier days of cooking television. At the age of five, he was mesmerized by Julia Child, declaring to his mother that he would one day become a chef. The budding culinary enthusiast was only ten when he read his first cookbook, Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, from cover to cover. Gillard was raised in Freemont, Mich. on a 40-acre homestead where his mother, a single parent, raised goats, chickens, rabbits, pigs, pheasants and cows. The family’s large vegetable garden and market stand where they sold their goods provided sustenance and income for the family, making a lasting impression on Gillard as to the integrity and beauty of local and seasonal food products. His transition into a serious culinary career came in 1987 when he joined the kitchen staff of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Mich. His next job was Executive Sous Chef at Egypt Valley Country Club, also in Grand Rapids, coordinating daily dining services for up to 1000 guests. Intrigued by the city’s culinary culture, Gillard moved to Los Angeles in 1993 and secured a job at Joachim Splichal’s Pinot Bistro in Studio City. Over the next eight years, Gillard served as an integral part of the Patina Group kitchen. During his tenure with the Patina Group, Gillard played a significant role among the participating chefs for several Emmy and Grammy dinner galas. In 2001, Gillard moved to Boca Raton to open his own catering company, but California beckoned, and thus he returned to Los Angeles in 2002 to become Executive Chef at Mirabelle on the Sunset Strip. Gillard joined Napa Valley Grille in 2007 as Executive Chef. With his upbringing on the farm and strong relationships with California farmers, his culinary signature is a perfect fit for the wine country cuisine of Napa Valley Grille. Gillard, a Sherman Oaks resident, regularly contributes his time to several Los Angeles fundraisers, including Meals on Wheels, the Los Angeles Opera Wine Auction and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
MANUEL ORTEGA Pastry Chef
Manuel Ortega brings a unique background to his position
of pastry chef at Napa Valley Grille, combining his experience
in painting and architectural design with the science of
baking and the art of plating desserts. A native of Buenos
Aires, Ortega began experimenting in the kitchen when he
was 10, but initially followed his creative energy into
a career in design, graduating with a degree in fine arts
and painting from the Massachusetts College of Art in 1999.
He subsequently earned a professional certificate in design
from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University.
Around this time, Ortega decided to formally pursue his
love of cooking, and enrolled in the professional chef
program at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, graduating
in 2004. At his first restaurant, he worked his way up
from baker to pastry chef, creating and plating a repertoire
of desserts at Bricco, an upscale trattoria in Boston.
He next worked as pastry chef at the Red Fez, where he
also learned North African and Middle Eastern cooking techniques.
Ortega decided to move in 2005 and headed west, working
as a private chef and caterer in Phoenix and Los Angeles,
before joining Los Angeles-based MNM Consulting in 2008.
In 2009, he returned to the excitement of a bustling restaurant
kitchen at Napa Valley Grille.
Like Napa Valley Grille Executive Chef Joseph Gillard, Ortega
shares a passion for local, seasonal ingredients. Among his
seasonally influenced finales at Napa Valley Grille are Meyer
Lemon Panna Cotta with Amaretti Cookie Crust and Seasonal
Berry Panzanella Salad with Sangría Dressing; Mini Éclairs
with Cordillera Dark Chocolate-Brandy Cream; and Warm Brioche
Bread Pudding with Vanilla Gelato and Sea Salt Caramel. Ortega
and Gillard both believe that a meal doesn’t stop with dinner
and start again with dessert, so the two take a strong interest
in each other’s menus, working as a team. “Dessert shouldn’t
overshadow the previous courses,” Ortega says, “but, rather,
be a complement to the meal and an emphatic ending.” When
he is not in the kitchen, the 37-year-old pastry chef continues
to paint, and, as he puts it, “get to the gym whenever time
allows.”
