Adrian Vela

Adrian Vela is Executive Chef at Catch LA in West Hollywood and Concept Executive Chef at Catch Hospitality Group. His career is built on a steady progression through Chef De Partie, Sous Chef, Executive Sous Chef, Executive Chef, Corporate Executive Chef, and Concept Executive Chef roles, with the through-line of station discipline expanding into broader kitchen responsibility. Vela trained at Arizona State University while working as Chef De Partie at Wynn Las Vegas and at Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants. Those early posts established a foundation in prep accuracy, timing, pickup, and repetition. They set the tone for a career shaped by consistency and clean execution. He moved into Las Vegas fine dining as Sous Chef at Bradley Ogden at Caesars Palace, then Master Cook at Guy Savoy, before joining Joël Robuchon as Sous Chef. Across those kitchens, the emphasis was on refined service, detail, and repetition under scrutiny. The work required attention to mise, heat, sauce, and texture, with discipline as the standard. Vela then stepped into senior kitchen management as Executive Sous Chef at Charlie Palmer Steak House and RM Seafood. In those roles, cooking judgment had to align with labor, timing, communication, and the daily enforcement of taste. The shift marked a move from running a station to helping hold a room to one standard. He later served as Executive Chef at Tavistock Restaurant Collection, then as Executive Chef at Catch Hospitality Group, followed by Corporate Executive Chef at 50 Eggs Hospitality Group. Since 2022, he has held the role of Concept Executive Chef at Catch Hospitality Group. That position reflects operational range and the ability to carry a restaurant identity across more than one dining room. At Catch LA, his work sits inside a high-visibility restaurant model where polished plates and immediate pacing matter. The seafood focus demands cooking that reads cleanly without becoming thin. The 2025 Japanese Spot Prawns served with asparagus, charred onion, bouillabaisse, and toasted sourdough for dipping, featured during the group’s 14-year anniversary specials, shows that approach clearly. Shellfish holds the center, while asparagus and charred onion add contrast. Bouillabaisse provides the concentrated seafood base, and toasted sourdough is built into the eating as part of the sauce work. His seafood vocabulary at Catch LA is ingredient-led and direct. Signature Roasted Langoustine follows the same logic, emphasizing shellfish, controlled heat, and restraint around texture. The cooking is composed enough to hold standard and clear enough to keep appetite in the foreground. Vela’s background reflects a balance of technical discipline and larger-scale leadership. His Las Vegas years supplied a strong foundation in precision, while his later roles expanded that experience into multi-room responsibility and brand-wide execution. At Catch LA, those strands meet in seafood cooking designed for a room with energy and a menu that stays modern, legible, and firmly tied to the product.