Chef
Gregorio Stephenson
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California, United States
i. Biography
Corporate executive work in the Nobu system depends on continuity: a shared restaurant language, repeatable standards, and enough restraint to keep seafood, citrus, texture, and heat in clear proportion. Gregorio Stephenson’s formation is tied to Nobu Malibu, California, and his wider role at Nobu carries that coastal kitchen’s discipline into the group structure. The through-line is not novelty for its own sake, but the Nobu vocabulary applied with polish: seafood handled cleanly, richness cut with brightness, and plates built to read quickly in service.
The Path
A coastal Nobu kitchen asks for precision before ornament. As Executive Chef at Nobu Malibu, Gregorio Stephenson worked in a room where the ocean was not an abstract influence but part of the restaurant’s frame. The style associated with that period is polished and exacting, with timing, balance, and ingredient clarity doing as much work as luxury products. Malibu became the public reference point for his cooking because the dishes there made the method legible: richness held in check, acidity used with purpose, and finish kept clean. Corporate culinary direction in a global restaurant group requires the standards of the line to survive scale. As Executive Corporate Chef of Nobu Restaurants, Gregorio Stephenson carries authority built from service rather than distance from it. The role connects oversight across the group with the practical memory of the kitchen: pace, consistency, and the recognizable Nobu treatment of seafood and high-value ingredients.
The Work Today
Current Nobu credits place the work across both restaurant and group levels. Gregorio Stephenson is Executive Corporate Chef at Nobu Restaurants and Corporate Executive Chef at Nobu. The titles show a career still attached to the restaurant floor while extending into broader culinary direction. The Malibu repertoire shows the house balance in named dishes rather than slogans. Favorites created by Executive Chef Gregorio Stephenson there include Ribeye with Yuzu Butter Truffle Sauce, Heirloom Tomato New Style, and Kobe Beef with Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms. The construction is clear: beef matched with citrus-butter richness, tomato framed through New Style, and Kobe Beef given contrast through Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms. Seafood remains the stated specialty, and the red snapper with sweet shiso salsa shows how that grammar travels outside the home dining room. Created by Chef Gregorio Stephenson of Nobu Malibu for the BNP Paribas Open tennis restaurant, the special keeps the center on fish, brightness, and a concise finish. Away from Nobu Malibu, the dish still reads within the same register: clean seafood, aromatic lift, and controlled contrast.
Signature
Gregorio's signature dishes include Ribeye with Yuzu Butter Truffle Sauce, Heirloom Tomato New Style, Kobe Beef with Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms, Artichoke Salad, and red snapper with sweet shiso salsa. The set points to a Nobu idiom built on contrast: butter against yuzu, beef against crisp mushroom, tomato through the structure of New Style, artichoke in salad form, and snapper paired with sweet shiso salsa.
Acclaim
Recognition here is attached to responsibility and named work rather than a separate awards record. The public shape of the cooking is concrete because the dishes are named. Ribeye with Yuzu Butter Truffle Sauce, Heirloom Tomato New Style, Kobe Beef with Crispy Shiitake Mushrooms, and red snapper with sweet shiso salsa tie Gregorio Stephenson to seafood, Japanese restaurant craft, and the Malibu table through specific plates rather than general claims.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Gregorio
What is Gregorio Stephenson's current role?
Gregorio Stephenson is Corporate Executive Chef at Nobu.
Where did Gregorio Stephenson work before?
Earlier in their career, Gregorio Stephenson worked at Nobu Malibu.
What is Gregorio Stephenson known for?
Seafood.
