Chef
Zack Walters
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States
i. Biography
Coming Up
Culinary school in San Francisco gave Zack Walters the technical base that shows up in the rest of the work: clean timing, measured execution, and a kitchen manner that favors control over flourish. In a city known for speed and pressure, that early training helped set the terms of his cooking, which reads as disciplined and direct. As co-owner and executive chef at Salt's Cure in Hollywood, Walters built that approach into a public-facing role, where the food and the operation both carried the mark of steady pressure applied with purpose. Now chef-owner of Sedalia's, Walters has moved from building reputation to running the room. Ownership changes the job, but the craft stays legible: the same attention to order, the same dependence on repetition, the same insistence on a plate that makes sense before it tries to impress. The progression is cumulative, with each step widening the scope without changing the fundamentals.
Where They Are Now
The current cooking moves across bright, briny, and deep savory tones, with dishes like The Inca Contentment, Fried Hake, El Matrimonio, Crudo, Bean dip, sea urchin and house made sesame crisp, Ox tail stew, Calcots, and Blue fish crudo showing a kitchen built on contrast. Walters works across cold and hot, crisp and soft, clean and slow-cooked, so the menu holds both lightness and weight without losing structure. The range is broad, but the logic stays clear. What ties the list together is control. The Inca Contentment and El Matrimonio sit alongside Fried Hake and Crudo without feeling like separate ideas, and Bean dip, sea urchin and house made sesame crisp adds texture without crowding the plate. Ox tail stew and Calcots bring a more grounded register, while Blue fish crudo keeps the emphasis on precision and freshness. Walters is working with dishes that rely on balance, restraint, and enough room for each element to register on its own.
Signature
The signature dishes associated with Zack Walters — The Inca Contentment, Fried Hake, El Matrimonio, Crudo, and Bean dip, sea urchin and house made sesame crisp — are concise in form and specific in intent. They point to a kitchen that favors clarity of construction and a direct line from technique to plate, with no need for excess to make the point.
Recognition
Zack Walters has received James Beard Award finalist / Best Chef: Southwest (2025).
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Zack
What is Zack Walters's current role?
As of 2026, Zack Walters is Chef-Owner.
Where did Zack Walters train or study?
Zack Walters trained at Culinary school in San Francisco.
What is Zack Walters known for?
California cuisine and nose-to-tail animal butchery.
