Daniel Patterson

The Path

Daniel Patterson trained at Duke University before moving into a sequence of kitchens that maps a specific California line of work. At Babette's in Sonoma, California, he was chef from 1994–1999. At Elizabeth Daniel, he was chef from 2000–2004. He later served as opening chef at Frisson, then moved into a longer run as chef-owner at Coi in San Francisco, California from 2006–2022. At Coi, the work associated with Patterson widened in step with San Francisco’s own conversation about precision, seasonal California ingredients, and a modern approach that could hold both discipline and experimentation. From there, he expanded through the Bay Area in roles that carried his name into different rooms and formats. He was owner at Il Cane Rosso in the San Francisco Ferry Building, San Francisco, California, chef/restaurateur at Plum in Uptown Oakland, California from 2010, and chef/restaurateur at Haven in Oakland's Jack London Square, California from 2012. In 2017–2018, he was co-founder at Locol, adding another line to a career that moved between fine-dining rigor, broader hospitality, and the labor of getting a concept off the ground in public. Across those years, the throughline is not stasis but method. Patterson’s path keeps returning to California cuisine, to kitchens as working spaces for idea-making, and to mentorship as part of the job rather than an accessory to it.

The Work Today

Today, Daniel Patterson is chef and co-founder at Jacaranda in Los Angeles, where the work reflects a career built on technique and curiosity in equal measure. He is also chef at Alta Adams in West Adams, Los Angeles. His cooking remains tied to California cuisine, but not in a fixed or nostalgic way. It is described by a modernist aesthetic and an innovative use of aromatherapy-inspired essences, a combination that points to clarity in construction and an interest in how flavor registers beyond the obvious. That approach matches the larger shape of the work. Mentorship still sits inside it. The idea appears directly in Patterson’s own words and in the way the career has been built: knowledge passed along, not kept separate from service. Read that way, the current work sits in direct continuity with Babette's in Sonoma, Elizabeth Daniel, Frisson, Coi, Il Cane Rosso in the San Francisco Ferry Building, Plum, Haven, and Locol, while remaining grounded in the present demands of a kitchen and the people working inside it.

In Their Words “I am not running a kitchen right now, but I am still a chef at heart and find inspiration in sharing my experiences with up-and-coming talent to support their growth.” “Being a mentor is part of being a chef.”

Acclaim

Daniel's honors include Best Chef: Pacific (nominee), Two Stars, Chef of the Year, Best New Restaurant, Best New Chef, and Rising Star Chef.