Jason Ambacher

The Path

Jason Ambacher spent the early part of his career as Executive Chef at Dija Mara in Oceanside, California, a post he held until 2025. That period established the working habits that define a chef’s identity in service: consistency, responsibility, and the ability to carry a kitchen through changing conditions. When he moved in 2025 to Leu Leu in Leucadia, California, he brought that experience into a different rhythm of service. The move reads as an expansion of focus rather than a clean break. At Dija Mara, Ambacher had already been working toward a voice that could connect personal heritage with contemporary dining. Leu Leu gave that voice a new setting, one where Mediterranean influences could be more plainly expressed and where his Greek roots could be referenced with greater directness.

The Work Today

In 2025, Ambacher took the chef role at Leu Leu Leucadia, carrying forward the steadiness developed at Dija Mara and applying it in a new context. The shift points to a kitchen approach shaped not only by technique, but by atmosphere: food, room, and intent treated as part of the same service. On joining the team, he said, "I’m very excited to be joining the amazing team at Leu Leu. It’s an opportunity to honor my Greek roots while exploring Mediterranean cuisine more deeply — all within a beautiful, intimate, and creative space." That framing is clear about where the work sits now: heritage is present, but not fixed; Mediterranean cuisine is being explored rather than claimed as a closed tradition; and the character of the space matters to how the food is received. At Leu Leu Leucadia, the craft is not only on the plate, but in the conditions that shape the plate.

In Their Words “I’m very excited to be joining the amazing team at Leu Leu. It’s an opportunity to honor my Greek roots while exploring Mediterranean cuisine more deeply — all within a beautiful, intimate, and creative space.”