David Myers

David Myers' impassioned quest for spontaneity, perfection and perpetual fluidity has been well served by his innate ability in the culinary arts. In tandem, these qualities have produced unforgettable dishes and dining experiences that today converge in the dynamic force of FoodArt Group, his culinary venture.
In college, Myers' earnest intent to major in International Business soon derailed. Realizing that valuable study time was often whiled away experimenting in the kitchen, he acknowledged that he was destined for another career. Striking out on his own, Myers accepted a job at Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, where Chef Trotter's culinary philosophy made a formative impression.
Myers worked under the master tutelage of Chef Daniel Boulud at Restaurant Daniel in New York. Myers' next move brought him to Los Angeles. Working for chef/restaurateur Joachim Splichal as Executive Sous Chef at Patina, he participated in the 2000 renovation and re–opening of the famed restaurant. Soon after, he joined the executive board of Raffles L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills, claiming the position of Executive Chef and opening the restaurant JAAN in the hotel. He later supervised the opening of JAAN in the Westin Stamford Equinox in Singapore.
In 2002, Myers opened his own restaurant, Sona, where he delivers modern cuisine with global influences in a stunning space on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. Sona has established itself as one of the top restaurants in Los Angeles, receiving such accolades as the Wine Spectator Grand Award in 2006 through the present, inclusion in the list of places to dine before you die from O: The Oprah Magazine and a five star rating–the only restaurant to hold this honor–from Angeleno in April 2007. Sona has also held a Michelin star since the inception of the Los Angeles guide in 2007.
Pizzeria Ortica, Myers' third restaurant and first foray into Italian food, opened in Orange County in January 2009. Designed to a evoke the spirit of a traditional Italian neighborhood pizzeria, the menu features a variety of regional dishes that express the depth and variety of Italy's vast culinary landscape. Since opening, Pizzeria Ortica received four stars from the Orange County Register, has been praised for offering “some of the best pasta in Southern California” by Los Angeles Times restaurants critic S Irene Virbila and was named "Favorite Italian Lunch Spot" by Riviera magazine. In late 2009, Myers will open Ortica in Los Angeles. The menu will feature refined Italian dishes while the wine list will highlight panoply of small producers and lesser known grapes from unsung areas of Italy.
Myers' culinary capabilities have been widely recognized by both the media and culinary industry. He was one of Food & Wine Best New Chefs in 2003, Angeleno voted him Chef of the Year in 2004 and he was one of GQ's “Men of Style” for 2008. Additionally, Myers was nominated for Rising Star Chef of the Year from the James Beard Foundation in 2004 as well as Best Chef Pacific in 2008. Myers has appeared on The Today Show, The Early Show, MSNBC's Your Business, Iron Chef America and starred in Shopping with Chefs on the Fine Living TV Network.