Jake Leiber

The Path

At Chez Ma Tante, the title of Head Chef and chef/partner signals two kinds of responsibility at once: day-to-day control of the kitchen and direct authorship of the restaurant’s food. In Jake Leiber, those roles meet in the same person, binding operational stewardship to the decisions that shape flavor, pacing, and the restaurant’s point of view.

The Work Today

The work is split between running the kitchen and holding the restaurant’s food to a consistent standard. Jake Leiber’s role as Head Chef and chef/partner means the name on the door and the hands in the kitchen are closely linked. At Chez Ma Tante, that connection shows in dishes that are specific without being showy, built to be recognizable on first taste and exact enough to reward attention. The discipline here is not only in execution, but in maintaining a steady restaurant language while leaving room for a clear personal line to come through.

Signature

Chez Ma Tante’s pancakes, pork shoulder dish, and pig’s head terrine are the signatures attached to Jake Leiber’s cooking. The 2018 crispy brunch pancakes are the clearest named example, and the point of distinction is right in the description: brunch comfort pushed toward a crisp finish. Leiber said it directly: “I knew I wanted them to be really, really crispy.” That line points to a chef attentive to texture, finish, and the small technical decisions that define a plate. The pork shoulder dish and pig’s head terrine extend that same register, suggesting a kitchen that works comfortably with richness, structure, and depth.

In Their Words “We found that we were very in tune with how we felt about restaurants and how we philosophized about restaurants.” “I knew I wanted them to be really, really crispy.”

Acclaim

The 2018 crispy brunch pancakes remain the clearest named specialty attached to his cooking. Leiber has also described the restaurant relationship in shared terms: "We found that we were very in tune with how we felt about restaurants and how we philosophized about restaurants." That language places Chez Ma Tante in a collaborative frame, with Jake Leiber working as both chef and partner inside a shared set of ideas about how a restaurant should feel and how its food should speak.