Portrait of Alex Penkin
i. Biography
Alex Penkin’s role as Executive Chef at Juniper and Ivy in San Diego carries the uncommon weight of continuity. He has been part of the restaurant’s team from the start, and that long presence matters in a kitchen where leadership is built from familiarity with the room, the pace, and the standards already in place. The result is a style of authority grounded in repetition, not arrival.
The Sunday letter
Read Made By's new profiles every Sunday.
Meet the chefs, winemakers and sommeliers behind the places we cover. See a sample below before you subscribe.
See a sample of the Sunday emailOne email a week. Unsubscribe from any issue.
Coming Up
At Juniper and Ivy, Head Chef work gave Alex Penkin an early command of the restaurant’s tempo and expectations. That formative run established the practical knowledge that comes from leading inside a house rather than learning it from the outside: how service moves, how discipline shows up in daily work, and how a kitchen holds together when precision has to coexist with energy. Returning later as Executive Chef, Penkin brought back a deeper read on the same room, with the earlier post now serving as the base for a larger responsibility.
Where They Are Now
As Executive Chef, Penkin leads with the accumulated knowledge of a place he has already helped shape. The strength of that position comes from proximity: a close working understanding of what Juniper and Ivy has been, how it runs, and the standards it expects to keep.
Career - Executive Chef — Juniper and Ivy - Head Chef — Juniper and Ivy
FAQ What is Alex Penkin's current role? As of 2026, Alex Penkin is Executive Chef. Where did Alex Penkin work before? Alex Penkin's earlier career included Juniper and Ivy.
The Sunday letter
Get the next Made By profile in your inbox.
We send one email every Sunday morning with the people we profiled that week.
See a sample of the Sunday emailOne email a week. Unsubscribe from any issue.