EXECUTIVE CHEF, JEFF THURSTON

Jeff was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.  His passion for cooking peaked at an early age.  He began cooking at the age of Fourteen, when he worked at Le Pigalle in Toronto’s Theater District.  Jeff’s desire and dedication helped him survive the rigorous regiment of the old European style kitchens.  After several years of training under various chefs, he developed the necessary skills and discipline in order to pursue his dream of being a chef.

In 1990, Jeff was offered the opportunity to train under Wolfgang Puck at his Eureka and Chinois on Main restaurants in Los Angeles.  This experience allowed Jeff to explore the exciting world of California and Pacific Rim cuisine.  He took this invaluable experience and used it to assist in the opening of Hans Rockenwagner’s Rox Restaurant in the Beverly Prescott Hotel.  Jeff’s progress gained him the role of Executive Sous Chef at Chef Rockenwagners’ Rockenwagner Restaurant.  This later lead to Jeff’s appointment as Chef of Fana Restaurant, which was Chef Rockenwager’s Mediterranean restaurant in
Santa Monica, Ca.

In 1994, Chef Thurston was asked to join the exciting new team at Moose’s
Restaurant in San Francisco’s North Beach.  His experience at Moose’s led him to a new challenge of raising the level of cuisine at Gordon Biersch Brewery and Restaurant in San Francisco.  After successfully generating a dynamic culinary standard for Gordon Biersch, he moved on to bring his extensive background to the Essex Supper Club, as consulting chef.  With his newly created menus, Chef Thurston showed the unique diversity of the many local influences found in San Francisco.  His Contemporary American cuisine utilized the finest local and imported ingredients.

In 1998, he was recruited to join Wolfgang Puck in his latest venture at Obachine Asian Restaurant and Sushi Satay Bar in Seattle, WA.  With his extensive knowledge of Pacific Rim cuisine, Jeff dove in to the unique flavors of Asian cuisine.  With the influences of Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Thai, Jeff has been able to offer a distinctive variety in one menu.

Jeff joins the Cohn Family of Restaurants at their exciting new project The Prado Restaurant, located in San Diego’s beautiful Balboa Park.  This new venue features a fusion menu of Latin and Italian cuisine.  David and Lesley Cohn are excited to have the creativity of Jeff’s background to compliment and enhance the culinary cuisine at their newest endeavor.