Ron Siegel

Expert Interview: Ron Siegel

Behind the Chef

What were your favorite foods growing up?
Pizza, burger and Chinese food.

When did you decide you wanted to be a chef?
At 17 years old.

Where and when did your career in food begin?
In 1983 at the Meat Department in Palo Alto, California.

Who/what has shaped your cooking the most over the years?
Traveling to Japan seven times over the last 15 years.

How would you describe your cuisine?
Contemporary cuisine driven by the seasons with a Japanese influence.

What influences your cooking style and particularly the menu at your restaurant?
Mainly the seasons reflected by the local producers' harvest.

What are your favorite culinary weapons in the kitchen?
Salt and pepper from around the world including Tellicherry pepper, Long pepper, Szechuan pepper, Murray River salt, Bolivian Rock salt, White Muntock peppercorn and Verbena Sea salt.

What is your favorite secret ingredient?
Sancho pepper

What is the one rule or value you try to instill in all of your staff?
Take your time and focus.

What qualities do you look for when hiring cooks for your restaurant?
Precision

If I'm trying to watch my weight and I'm eating at your restaurant, what am I ordering to eat?
Sashimi of Live Spot Prawns

What was the most challenging meal you had to make? Why?
A couple of years ago I was asked to make a nine-course "raw" tasting menu that was different for each guest.

What was your worst restaurant disaster?
We lost power when I was chef at Charles Nob Hill and we had to cook in the dark through the service.

What is your least favorite food?
Whale Sashimi

What is your beverage of choice?
Wine or beer depending on my mood.

What are some recent dining and culinary trends you have been observing?
We see more open-minded guests looking forward to being surprised.

Which foreign country inspires your style most?
Japan

What was the most spectacular meal you have ever had?
Too many to name one but I have two in my mind, one that took place in Japan and one in Spain.

What is your best cooking tip for a home enthusiast?
Use fresh ingredients and have fun!

What do you eat when you are home?
My kids decide for me...

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Expert Profile

Ron Siegel's career in the culinary arts began as a butcher in a grocery store in Palo Alto, CA, where his family moved from New York when he was seven. A few years and many jobs later, Siegel enrolled in San Francisco's California Culinary Academy. It was during this time that he met Michael Mina, who hired him as a line cook at Aqua in 1991. In 1993, Siegel returned to his native New York to work with Daniel Boulud at Restaurant Daniel. Just one year later, Thomas Keller brought the young Siegel back to the Bay Area as his opening sous chef at The French Laundry in Yountville, CA.

In 1996, Siegel left The French Laundry to become the Chef at Charles Nob Hill in San Francisco, where he remained for five years. During this time, Siegel quickly became one of the Bay Area's rising culinary stars, including defeating the reigning Iron Chef champion Hiroyuki Sakai on national television in 1998. Siegel was also named one of Food & Wine magazine's "Best New Chefs of 1999." In 2001, Siegel was offered the position of Executive Chef at Masa's, where he remained until June of 2004.

In July 2004, Siegel joined The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco as Chef of The Dining Room. His cuisine, which he describes as Modern French with a Japanese influence, is complemented by an extensive wine list designed by Sommelier Stephane Lacroix.