Chef
Joshua Skenes
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California, United States
i. Biography
Before Joshua Skenes took over the kitchen at Leopardo in Los Angeles, his work was shaped in a fire-centered room in San Francisco, where heat, discipline, and control set the terms. Saison was the proving ground: first as a pop-up in the Mission District, then as a permanent address in South of Market, and later as the restaurant where his hearth-led style drew national notice. The core of the method was already there—flame, restraint, and a hard line on refinement.
The Climb
Joshua Skenes first established that method as founder and chef at Saison in San Francisco, California, U.S. (until 2019), where his name became linked to precision and ambition. The restaurant’s rise gave the work a fixed place in the city’s dining map, the kind of position that turns a room into a reference point. He carried that same exacting energy into Angler in San Francisco, California, U.S. (2018–2019), where the register shifted, but the standards did not. Today, Joshua is chef of Leopardo (since 2024) and founder of Happies Hand Made (since 2025), extending a career that advances by deliberate steps rather than expansion for its own sake. Each move seems sized to the idea behind it.
Today
Since 2024, Skenes has cooked as chef at Leopardo in Los Angeles. The setting has changed, but the center of the work remains the same: hearth, fire, and the discipline they require. In that frame, temperature and timing are not supporting details; they are the structure of the meal.
Recognition
Joshua Skenes has received Michelin Guide, three Michelin stars (2014). Joshua's honors include Michelin stars (2014) and Best New Chefs. Those acknowledgments sit alongside the work itself: a public record of a style that was already fully formed in the kitchen.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Joshua
Where did Joshua Skenes work before?
Joshua Skenes's earlier career included Saison and Angler.
What recognition has Joshua Skenes received?
Michelin stars (2014).
