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Team French Fries & Caviar
French fries and caviar is a culinary and beverage consulting company. We specialize in vast array of services like new and existing restaurant consultation, research and development, and brand advocacy. Working with clients to help elevate their food and beverage programs anywhere on the scale from french fries to caviar.
Chef Joey Elenterio
Joey's culinary career has been fast and full of promotions. On his sister's recommendation, Joey was simply looking into attending culinary school, when he fell in love with cooking and enrolled immediately after high school at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. Chef Joey loved the rush and competitiveness of cooking school; the idea of learning the same skills and fighting for the same spot was a constant motivation to hold himself to the highest standard.
Joey's career was launched while attending culinary school. He began working for Wolfgang Puck's Spago in Palo Alto as a stage. Joey credits then Spago Chef, Aram Mardigian, with seeing his potential and paying special attention to him, teaching him everything he knows about being a restaurant chef. Joey was promoted steadily during the next three years at Spago, starting as a saucier and leaving as Banquet Chef when the restaurant closed in 2007. Joey worked for Rolland Passot and Brian Berling as Executive Chef of Tanglewood on Santana Row in San Jose before starting with Chez TJ as Sous Chef in 2009, becoming Executive Chef in 2011. Chef Joey has a straight-forward food philosophy: don't over do it. Joey grew up eating simple food; mom's pork chop and potatoes and hamburger pie. Many of his dishes are sparked by nature and the world around him. Following his belief that it is harder to show restraint, Joey's menus let the ingredients do the talking; he surprises diners with a new spin on foods they might already know. Joey has been awarded numerous accolades from critics. He retained Chez Tj’s one Michelin Star for the Michelin Guide 2012 and 2013. This highly coveted award makes him the youngest American born chef to hold a Michelin Star. Early in the new year Joey was then included in a respected list of up and coming hospitality professionals awarded by Zagat. This was the first year the Zagat 30 Under 30 award was selected for the Bay Area. Shortly after, in March of 2012, Joey was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle for the Rising Star Chef award given to five chefs in the Bay Area that show extreme promise. Joey went on to take over as excutive chef of San Francisco’s famous Wayfare Tavern. At Wayfare Tavern he garnered a 3 star review from the San Francisco Chronicle and helped put the restaurant on the top 100 restaurants in San Francisco. Not one to pass up an opportunity to be a partner in an exciting new 2 venue space. Joey left to open up Cadence with attached jazz bar Mr. Tipple’s Recording Studio. At cadence Joey gained rave reviews in the short lived life that was. Mr. tipple’s strives on with elevated bar food and live music.
Jessamine Mclellan
Jessamine currently serves as the National Brand Ambassador for the Powers & Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey portfolio at Pernod Ricard. In 2015, this role moved her to New York City to develop a consumer and trade education program based out of the Dead Rabbit Grocery and Grog, recently named the “Best Bar in the World” by 50 Best Bars. Her role as National Brand Ambassador is to educate and showcase this unique portfolio of Irish Whiskeys including Redbreast, the Spot Whiskeys, Powers, and Midleton throughout the US. She currently travels the United States to collaborate with some of the most influential bars in the world in menu development and event support.
No stranger to the spirits industry, she’s also an award-winning bartender and knows her way around a wine list. Jessamine has a level two certification from The Court of Master Sommeliers. She’s also an active member of numerous industry groups like the United States Bartender’s Guild. She has graduated from BarSmarts, made it to the top eight in San Francisco’s Speedrack charity competition, and is currently enrolled in an educational program for a Certificate in Distilling from the Institute of Distilling and Brewing out of the United Kingdom.
Her experience in restaurants began as a bartender, but her passion was ignited when she began studying wine. With a full course load at UC Santa Cruz for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Jessamine decided to tackle the Sommelier examinations. Self-taught with determination and books, it was the passing of this test that jump-started her focus in fine dining. She would go on to open Alexander’s Steakhouse in San Francisco as Bar Manager after being the crucial change the Cupertino location needed to gain One Michelin star in the year she created cocktails for the menu. Craving more, Jessamine joined the Manresa Restaurant team to launch their spirits program. A newly acquired liquor license and remodel at this Two Michelin Starred restaurant (now Three) was the perfect stage to showcase Jessamine’s culinary driven cocktail style, awareness of local and sustainable ingredients and focus on simplicity and seasonality. At Chez TJ she went back to her roots with wine, running the small One Michelin Starred restaurant as General Manager and Wine Director. Quickly becoming recognized as one of the Bay Area’s leading bar minds, Jessamine was tapped to open Hakkasan in San Francisco as the Beverage Manager, later consulting on the subsequent openings of the Las Vegas and Beverly Hills locations. Globally, the Hakkasan group holds a dozen Michelin Stars for their luxury locations.
Jessamine’s knowledge and easygoing personality have led to repeated love from the press, and she’s been recognized by publications ranging from San Francisco Magazine, SF Weekly, Eater SF, Alcademics, and has been featured on the radio programs “Cooking with Ryan Scott” and “The Connected Table.” Look for her cocktail instructional videos to pop up on the Powers Irish Whiskey Facebook page, or come see her speak in person at one of the WhiskyFest shows held across the United States.