Chef
David Shofner
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Newport Beach, California, United States
i. Biography
David Shofner is Executive Chef of Fable & Spirit in Newport Beach, and that role sets the daily tempo of the kitchen. The cooking attached to his name is recognized for imaginative, globally inspired dishes: a compact description, but one that points to a style built on control, restraint, and range. In the room, the work lands through pacing, composition, and flavor pushed just beyond the obvious.
The Path
Executive Chef roles at Wineworks for Everyone and Dublin 4 Gastropub (2016) marked an early stretch in David Shofner’s career before he moved into the Executive Chef post at Fable & Spirit in Newport Beach, California. By the time he reached Fable & Spirit, the rhythm of executive leadership was already in place, measured through consistency, timing, and control across many moving parts.
The Work Today
The current kitchen leads through a direct brief: Executive Chef, and dishes built with imagination and global inspiration. That combination signals a cooking style that can move across traditions without losing its line, keeping the plate composed even when the references widen. At Fable & Spirit, David Shofner’s work sits inside the daily demands of service, where ideas have to hold up as dishes and dishes have to carry the restaurant’s voice. The result is a kitchen shaped by intent, discipline, and close attention to detail.
Signature
Fabled Fried Chicken is David's signature dish, and the one most closely tied to his name. In trade terms, it functions as the kind of plate that can define a kitchen’s calling card: clear enough to recognize, specific enough to remember, and attached directly to the chef who made it part of the work.
Acclaim
Fabled Fried Chicken is the dish most specifically attached to Shofner’s work, noted as a special at the restaurant. Specials occupy a useful place in service: they carry a little more expectation, a little more attention, and often the strongest read on how a kitchen wants to speak on a given night. For David Shofner, it is the plate that gathers his approach into one named offering, and the one that lingers most clearly beyond the pass.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of David
What is David Shofner's current role?
As of 2026, David Shofner is Executive Chef.
What is David Shofner known for?
Imaginative, globally inspired dishes.
