Travis Passerotti

Executive Chef

Chef Travis Passerotti was named Executive Chef of The Tasting Kitchen in 2019 after working for over six years in various culinary leadership roles at the restaurant. He leads The Tasting Kitchen’s award-winning food program with his passion for sustainably sourced ingredients and expert knowledge of local food communities.

 Raised in the Pacific Northwest, Passerotti grew up exploring farmers’ markets with his father, a chef and restaurateur, and was also influenced by his mother’s love of culinary heritage and hospitality. In the beginning of his career, Passerotti honed his culinary skills by studying under classically trained European chefs: Chef Bollag (Bruno’s Chef Kitchen) and Chef Landsberg (Inn at The Seventh Ray, King Estate Winery). Passerotti worked with Chef Landsberg at King Estate Winery, directing the charcuterie program before moving to Los Angeles in 2013.

 As Executive Chef of The Tasting Kitchen, Passerotti has advanced the restaurant’s seasonal market buying, sustainable sourcing, and whole animal butchery. He draws inspiration from Nouvelle French and Contemporary American cuisines, the American local food movement, and farmhouse ideology for their insistence on seasonal cooking, local and wild ingredients, with regional culinary practices. Each dish he creates for The Tasting Kitchen reflects the provenance of its ingredients, while still emphasizing light, bright Mediterranean European flavor profiles that complement the flavors of Southern California.

 Passerotti lives in Santa Monica and when he is not creating delicious magic on the Westside of Los Angeles, you might find him bowling with friends, biking or fishing along the coast.