Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Liu He.
Jessica, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started cooking professionally during senior year of high school. I’ve always had an interest in cooking due to my father having his own restaurant in El Salvador, where I was born. I was always in the kitchen cooking some weird creation, mostly fried rice, instant noodles with a twist or just making a snack during the day. Our family moved to the U.S. in 1996, and on my high school senior year, I started to go to Le Cordon Bleu for a Saturday program once a month. We would go in and take a class to learn different techniques and cuisines. I competed in the Skills USA and made it to regionals, but competing against people who were in trade school was hard to top off. My first kitchen job was at Pasadena’s Noir Food in Wine in 2010 and I worked my way up to sous chef after two years. It was a very small mom and pop restaurant where my chef, Claud Beltran ran his own catering business and was always in and out of the kitchen. It was the best stepping stone for me as an aspiring cook. I learned the ins and outs of what to do and what not to do. How to handle a massive prep list, work long hours, work under the clock and through my breaks. But it made me who I am today. First motto I ever learned – “got time to lean, got time to clean!” I still remember the CDC, Kellen Woodcock’s voice in my head whenever I have a quieter night at Esters.
Ever since my first job in the food industry, I always managed to work two jobs. One full time as a cook and one part-time as a server/bartender. I felt that even though I may be overworked or missing out in “life events,” it will be well worth the time investment for my career. I needed and wanted to learn every and any position in the restaurant industry.
From Noir and the San Gabriel Valley’s Toros Japanese Fusion, I went to Oto Oto Izakaya Japonaise and met my previous business partner and great friend Adrian Castro. I worked at Oto Oto for about two years and went onto my next adventure at José Andrés’ The Bazaar in 2014. The Bazaar was another stepping stone. I felt like I made it somewhere. A place in LA that people from East of LA and the SGV area always aspire to work towards. This was when my father was more open to the idea that I was going to be a chef one day. Working at The Bazaar and also Son of a Gun was intense. Working almost 16-hour shifts and needing to put aside three hours for just my commute. I was living off a few hours of sleep, but it was well worth it. I learned how to manage my time, my money, and create dishes in new ways that I didn’t think of before. Learning the concept of sustainable farming, farmers’ market product, seeing the seasonal changes and many more.
In 2015, Adrian and I wanted to just host a nice dinner – nothing crazy. It went from planning a dinner for 12 people to becoming a 40-person pop-up! This evolved into our 2point0eats pop-up, that I managed with Adrian while still working two jobs. It was the most humbling experience that I have ever done. I knew it took a lot to open up a restaurant, but man, did I learn quick! I had to learn how to do it all – hiring, renting, invitations, bar program, food program, accounting, purchasing and many more things that someone at the age of 24 could even imagine.
It was intense, I put everything on my credit card. I didn’t care how much interest was, I didn’t care if I was barely making anything. I just knew I had to do it. It lit a fire in me and I wanted to keep chasing it! This was when I realized that all my hard work from when I first started cooking, hustling two jobs just to make ends meet, that I was so grateful to have such wonderful mentors and such a supportive family and friends base. 2point0eats lasted under a year. Though it was amazing, we both couldn’t live off what we barely made. We needed to buckle down and find a full-time job.
Auntie’s Bakery & Cafe in Whittier was my first head chef position, where I built the foundation from the ground up. I managed the food program for three different businesses, as well as created a system for the service flow. I worked with them for a little over a year, before landing at Esters Wine Shop & Bar as Executive Chef.
Has it been a smooth road?
I don’t think my road was relatively smooth, nor was it relatively hard. I felt that anything in life, what you give is what you will be getting out. I put myself in certain situations where it could’ve been easy, but then, I am me, and I tend to spill nine cups out of ten. So, my odds are normally against me. It was always a little tug and pull, something “bad” could happen, but then something greater would come. Any set back in life always came at the wrong time. Like when I was promoted to sous chef at Noir Food & Wine, I cut my finger on the meat slicer and had to be hospitalized for at least two weeks. I had to do therapy and couldn’t go back to work until four months later. But then, I went on to meet my friend Adrian on a new adventure. Another hiccup in the road, was choosing either to do something daring like a pop-up with no executive chef experience or just stick with the corporate setting, and try and wait my turn to climb a ladder. I faced the fork in the road of either the little tiger inside of me that was ready to release or follow the path of trying to be a chef at a well-respected restaurant. Choosing to let the tiger in me out turned to burning some bridges at work, but then it led me to being more independent and finding my own voice and style.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Esters Wine Shop & Bar – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Esters Wine Shop & Bar is part of the Rustic Canyon Family restaurant group (Rustic Canyon, Huckleberry, Sweet Rose Creamery & more), and has been open for a little over three years. We have a wide variety of wine and a great selection of beer! I am the executive chef for Esters. I run a tiny, little kitchen with a great team. We focus on seasonal ingredients that are organic and sustainably-sourced. Creating a dish for Esters has been a great blessing and learning experience because it teaches me how to let the product shine. I am most proud to be a part of this great restaurant group because of the endless amount of love and support from each manager is unreal. What sets us apart from others is that we constantly try to keep the menu exciting with either just making minor adjustments to the fruits or vegetables we use for crudité, salads and many more. We try to spice up a lot of things for our guest so that each visit is fun and different! Every Tuesday, we do our burger night, and once a month, we invite a special guest to come and do a take on their burger. My first guest burger night with Esters, we had Nancy Silverton! It’s a great experience for our regulars to meet a cool, celebrated chef!
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
To be quite honest, my proudest moment is being a part of this great team at Esters and being given this opportunity at this age [27]! It is so humbling, and I feel very blessed to be able to work amongst some chefs that I have looked up to my last few years in my career. It is incredible to be able to just meet them, but to be able to ask them for help and guidance is like a bird with a French fry!
Contact Info:
- Address: 1314 7th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90401 - Website: https://www.esterswineshop.com/
- Phone: 310-899-6900
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/esterswine/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Esters-Wine-Shop-Bar/802010676582697?pnref=lhc
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/esterswine
Image Credit:
Elise Freimuth, Emily Hart Roth, Jakob Layman
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
