As a master of farmers’ market-driven cuisine, Jeremy Fox is the award-winning Chef/Owner behind Rustic Canyon and Birdie G’s in Santa Monica, California, and author of the acclaimed cookbook, On Vegetables. Since joining the restaurant group in February 2013 as Rustic Canyon’s Executive Chef, Jeremy’s role has evolved to include mentoring culinary talent, and fostering skills in and out of the kitchen.

He is a champion of mental wellness in an industry that’s long ignored it, and implements important initiatives to promote a healthy team, including an alternative workweek for the culinary team at Birdie G’s. Inspired by local purveyors and the nearby Santa Monica Farmers’ Market, Jeremy crafts an almost daily-changing menu at Rustic Canyon. The cuisine there embraces hyper-seasonality and simplicity, with a slow food, zero-waste approach that Jeremy instills with all the teams at his restaurants. Vegetables play a large starring role, alongside a variety of local, sustainably-harvested seafood, housemade terrines and charcuterie, and comforting entrées showcasing California meat and poultry that can be enjoyed on their own or shared. While many dishes are fleeting, some have become celebrated signatures, such as Beets & Berries with quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth & pistachio “soil” or a Pozole Verde with local black cod, Tehachapi Grain Project’s hominy & corn tortilla & honeydew radish.

In late June 2019, Jeremy expanded the Rustic Canyon Family with the addition of Birdie G’s at Santa Monica’s historic Bergamot Station. Named after his daughter, Birdie, and grandmother, Gladys, the playful Eastern European restaurant focuses on California’s abundant produce, and is inspired by childhood memories and family traditions. The eclectic, seasonal menu celebrates Jeremy’s roots, with influences from Hungary, Poland, Ukraine, Germany and more. Just like at Rustic Canyon, nearly everything is made in-house with a high level of detail and technique, and out of reverence for local farmers, fishers, ranchers and other planet-friendly purveyors that are aligned with the team’s values of planet-forward practices. The generous menu has something for everyone—wood-grilled, koji-marinated Steak Frites showcasing prime and/or dry-aged Brandt beef, a gorgeous Relish Tray full of fresh, pickled, fermented and marinated seasonal vegetables with five-onion dip reminiscent of Lipton’s, a soulful bowl of Matzo Ball Soup made with carrot miso and his wife Rachael’s chicken broth recipe, “World Famous” Rose Petal Pie inspired by stained-glass desserts from the 1950s, and so much more.

Before joining Rustic Canyon, Jeremy specialized in surprising palates with his finely finessed dishes of in season fruits and vegetables at Napa’s Ubuntu from 2007 to 2010, earning the restaurant a Michelin star. He reimagined vegetarian cuisine as both healthful and full-flavored, showcasing contrasting textures and flavor combinations by utilizing produce grown just miles away in the restaurant’s biodynamic garden. Prior to that, he honed his craft and food philosophy as Chef de Cuisine from 2003-2007 at the lauded Manresa in Los Gatos under mentor Chef David Kinch. Jeremy also staged in Europe at several properties: De Snippe in Bruges, Belgium, and at St. John and the 3 Michelin starred Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, England. A cook since the age of 19 with roots in the American South, he first worked back-of-house positions at Anson Restaurant in Charleston and Mumbo Jumbo in Atlanta, his hometown.

Jeremy has garnered seven James Beard finalist nominations for the regional “Best Chef” category (West from 2009-2010, 2016-2019 and California in 2020) and a semifinalist nomination for “Outstanding Chef” (2024). Additional accolades include Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef 2008,” top positions for Rustic Canyon (2013-2019, 2021) and Birdie G’s (2019-2022) in the Los Angeles Times’ “101 Best Restaurants” list and a Michelin Star for Rustic Canyon in 2019 and 2021.

His first cookbook, On Vegetables, was released by Phaidon in April 2017 and was a James Beard finalist in the “Restaurant & Professional” category. It features 150 recipes that elevate vegetarian cooking and showcases Jeremy’s philosophy of “seed-to-stalk” cooking. He demonstrates how to use the smallest “scraps” to eliminate food waste, all while making cooking with vegetables accessible and exciting.