Chef
Kyle McClelland
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Los Angeles, California, United States
i. Biography
Chef of Saltie Girl - Los Angeles in Los Angeles, Kyle McClelland’s record is built the usual way: school first, then line work, then progressively larger rooms and titles. The throughline is not a single signature move but a steady rise from New York to Boston, Nantucket, Brooklyn, and Dallas before landing at Saltie Girl on the West Coast.
The Climb
Training at the French Culinary Institute in New York City gave Kyle McClelland the base. From there the work moves through Ambrosia on Huntington in New York City and The Federalist at the XV Beacon Hotel in Boston, then into the Head Chef post at TOPPER’S at The Wauwinet in Nantucket, followed by Executive Chef at Caviar Russe in New York City from 2009. After that came a run of co-owner/partner and Executive Chef roles at Prospect in Brooklyn, Driftwood in Dallas, Proof & Pantry in Dallas, Madrina in Dallas, and Vicini in Dallas. Today, Kyle McClelland is chef of Saltie Girl since 2016.
Today
Saltie Girl is the current anchor point in McClelland’s career. In Los Angeles, the role sits at the end of a path that has already moved through East Coast and Texas kitchens, with chef de cuisine, executive-chef, and partner titles all part of the record that leads here. The Los Angeles post gives his name a current geography, but the work behind it is cumulative rather than sudden. McClelland’s route through New York City, Nantucket, Brooklyn, and Dallas reads as a chain of operating kitchens and shared ownership, not a single leap.
Recognition
Recognition here is measured in scope. TOPPER’S at The Wauwinet placed Kyle McClelland in a Head Chef role, Caviar Russe put him in an Executive Chef post from 2009, and the Brooklyn and Dallas entries added co-owner/partner authority to the same operational record. The sequence shows how a kitchen career can move from employed work into leadership and ownership without changing the core discipline of the job. This resume is built as a sequence of moves across cities, each one adding a title, a market, or a broader level of responsibility.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Kyle
Where did Kyle McClelland train or study?
Kyle McClelland trained at French Culinary Institute.
