Chef
Zack Walters
- Discipline
- Chef
Made By record
Awards & recognition
3 total
verified records
Portrait of Zack Walters
i. Biography
He says it straight: grew up in Oklahoma City, then worked restaurants through high school, mostly front of house, bussing and barbacking. That early floor work gave him an understanding of service from the dining-room side of the pass, and it set the terms for a career that later moved through California kitchens and into ownership.
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Coming Up
During college, Zack Walters trained at a Japanese restaurant, and that stretch sharpened the habits kitchens run on: discipline, precision, and attention to pace. After three years there, he moved to San Francisco, then later to Los Angeles, building experience in professional kitchens through steady repetition rather than quick promotion. In San Francisco, Walters worked as cook at Rubicon. In Los Angeles, he became Head Chef at Hungry Cat from 2005, a role that carried responsibility for the daily rhythm of service.
He then co-founded Salt’s Cure in Los Angeles, a run that lasted from 2010–2017 and extended his work from execution into ownership and direction. Each step added a different kind of instruction: station work, kitchen leadership, and the demands of consistency over time. Today, Zack Walters is head up LGO Cafe and Luggage Room Pizzeria of La Grande Orange Cafe since 2017, and chef-owner of Sedalia’s. The path from Oklahoma City dining rooms to California kitchens reads as a long apprenticeship in restaurant work, from front-of-house basics to the responsibilities that come with running the room and the menu.
In Their Words “After working in a Japanese restaurant for three years during college, I decided to move out to San Francisco.” “Worked in restaurants through high school, mainly front of house positions like bussing and barbacking.”
The Sunday email
Read about chefs like Zack Walters in the Sunday email.
Every Sunday we send a lead story and up to four more about the chefs, winemakers, sommeliers and hoteliers behind the restaurants, bars, wineries and hotels we cover.
Recent stories
Free. One email a week, and you can unsubscribe from any issue.