Jeff Smedstad

The Path

Training at Scottsdale Culinary School and Seasons of my Heart Cooking School gave Jeff Smedstad a formal base to work from. Those schools established the discipline behind a career that would later be tested in service, consistency, and the demands of keeping food sharp from one day to the next. He went on to work as cook at U.S. Coast Guard before becoming owner / Executive Chef of Elote Cafe. Taken together, that path shows a steady build: classroom, line, ownership, each stage adding another layer of control over what his cooking could do.

The Work Today

He now owns the restaurant and leads its kitchen as Executive Chef. At Elote Cafe, Jeff Smedstad works from the bold, flavorful cuisine of southern and deep interior Mexico, a range built on heat, depth, brightness, and texture. The menu keeps one foot in tradition and the other in adaptation, pairing heritage with forward-thinking styles and unexpected ingredients so familiar forms can come through with a different edge. His standard is blunt: “If I’m not eating it, I’m not serving it.” That line sets the terms of the kitchen as plainly as any recipe.

Signature

Jeff's signature dishes include Elote Cafe Notebook and The Elote Cafe Cookbook. Together, they extend the work of the kitchen into print, recording the ideas, flavors, and point of view that shape the restaurant’s identity.

In Their Words “I always wanted to do my own thing in my style.”

Acclaim

Jeff Smedstad has received James Beard Award nomination, Best Chef Southwest (2017). His approach reads as direct and ingredient-led, built around the same clarity that guides his kitchen today. “I risked leaving a busy restaurant behind in Scottsdale in pursuit of happiness.” He has also said, “I always wanted to do my own thing in my style.” Taken together, those lines point to a clean break from certainty and a commitment to building work on his own terms.