Rising Stars: Meet Joseph Maggio of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Joseph Maggio.

Hi Joseph, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’m originally from New York and have called Los Angeles home for the past four years, but my path to becoming a chef is actually a pretty unconventional story. Sixteen years ago, in college, while working as a baseball umpire and at a Corner Bakery Cafe in North Texas, I met a chef named Annie. As a local regular, I would serve her a yogurt parfait, which eventually led us to talking about cooking and her being a chef. Showing interest in that career path, she extended an invitation to her home to prepare a meal with her family. Little did I know, she took me under her wing and we began meeting weekly. After a few months, she encouraged me to travel out to Chicago in pursuit of becoming a chef.

In Chicago, I attended Kendall College while working full time in kitchens throughout the city. After a few years, I joined the Michelin starred Boka Restaurant under Chefs Lee Wolen and Eddie Lee. I spent close to four years there, developing the foundational skills that taught me how to cook at a high level. I spent much of my free time and requested time off staging throughout the country, learning new techniques, building relationships, and continuing to push myself forward.

That pursuit eventually led me to the Bocuse d’Or, where I helped Team USA and competed in the Young Chef Competition myself. Through Ment’or BKB, I received a grant that allowed me to cook anywhere in the world. I chose Attica in Melbourne, Australia, where I worked under Chefs Ben Shewry and Matt Boyle for a season. From there, I moved to Napa Valley to join Chef Christopher Kostow at the three Michelin starred Restaurant at Meadowood.

I spent four years at Meadowood and finished my time there as a Sous Chef. It was a small, close knit team. Chef Kostow’s approach centered around intentional sourcing, seasonality, simplicity, creativity, and a strong sense of place. Meadowood taught me to look beyond the smoke and mirrors and think more deeply about why an ingredient, dish, or experience belonged on the table in the first place.

A few years after the fires of 2020 in Napa Valley, my wife and I moved to Los Angeles, where I transitioned into private cheffing. It required a completely different skill set and gave me the opportunity to experience food and hospitality from an entirely different perspective. I still miss the camaraderie of restaurants, but that transition opened a new chapter in my career while giving me room to think differently about my future, my family, and what I wanted to build next.

That eventually led Lydia and me to create JLM 312, the company through which we run our private chef work and take on projects across food and hospitality. What started as a way to give ourselves more freedom has grown into something much more meaningful. It allows us to keep learning, work across different areas of the industry, and steward the relationships we’ve built with clients, farmers, makers, and our community.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, it has not been a smooth road, and I’m grateful for the challenges along the way.

Each bump in my story has added texture and color to where I am today. Early in my career, most of the challenges centered around learning. There never seemed to be enough hours in a season, and I wanted to understand everything I could. My goal has always been to build the knowledge and skills to run different food businesses of my own. That required a huge commitment of time and sacrifice, but I would not have it any other way. Toward the end of my time in Napa, my priorities began to change. I had gotten married and was thinking more seriously about my future and starting a family.

COVID and the fires in Napa Valley were incredibly challenging. People lost friends, family members, homes, businesses, and places that were truly special. Frank Guidara said this during COVID and it has always stuck with me: “Adversity is a terrible thing to waste.” After the events of 2020, our restaurant went on the road, cooking in six different restaurants and cities, starting with a two month residency at the Ojai Valley Inn. I grew tremendously during that period and collaborated alongside incredible chefs across the country and in Mexico.

Leaving the restaurant industry for Los Angeles was difficult, but private cheffing offered stability while giving me a completely new challenge. As I’ve gotten older, I think more about how my decisions affect our future. I’m focused on growing our business, being present with my family, and learning what it means to be a chef, husband, and soon to be father. I still question what comes next, but I’ve become more adaptable, patient, and willing to trust where my feet are. Ultimately, if my name is attached to a project, I treat it as the main event. I want to show up completely and give it everything I have.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My wife Lydia, who is also a chef, and I run JLM 312. We started the company in October 2023 as a way to explore different areas of food and hospitality while building something of our own.

Through JLM 312, our work has ranged from private dinners and boutique events to pop ups, recipe development, consulting, menu development and mentoring. We might cook an intimate dinner in Venice one week, cater a holiday celebration in Brentwood the next or develop recipes for a CPG company. That range is one of the things I enjoy most about what we are building.

During the week, I also work as a private chef for UHNW families throughout Los Angeles. It is a very different environment from a restaurant and requires much more than just cooking. You have to understand the rhythm of a household, anticipate preferences and adapt quickly while maintaining consistency and discretion.

That work has made me much more versatile as a chef. One day might center around a rustic family dinner. The next could involve multiple guests and an intimate tasting menu. I constantly challenge myself to cook different cuisines, often changing from one day to the next. That has been incredibly fruitful because it pushes me to learn more about different cultures, ingredients and the techniques that define them.

What I enjoy most is that these two sides of my career continue to inform each other. Private cheffing has taught me adaptability and a deeper understanding of personal hospitality. JLM 312 gives Lydia and me the freedom to stay curious, take on different projects and continue growing as chefs.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Private dining and personalized hospitality will continue to grow in Los Angeles. I do not necessarily think that growth is a positive for the restaurant industry. Restaurants and small businesses are an important part of this city’s culture, but rising costs and tight margins are making them increasingly difficult to operate.

At the same time, I’m encouraged by changes that are making it easier for people to start small and build something of their own. Lower barriers for home based food businesses and street vendors give talented people more opportunities to test an idea without immediately taking on the overhead of a restaurant. I hope Los Angeles continues moving in that direction. Some of the most interesting businesses are built by people who bootstrap an idea, prove there is demand, and grow from there.

I’m also inspired by Angelenos becoming more mindful of what they consume. Greater interest in quality, sourcing, trust, and the people behind the product gives farmers, small vendors, bakeries, and independent makers more of the recognition and runway they deserve. I hope that creates an ecosystem that is less about chasing the next trendy product and more about supporting the people who genuinely care about what they grow, make, and serve.

Over the past four years, I have learned that Los Angeles will show up when people believe something is truly special. That gives me a lot of optimism for the future of craft, regardless of what technology we have to adapt to along the way.

Pricing:

• Pricing varies depending on what you’re looking for. Reach out and let’s connect! I’m always happy to walk through how I work and price things with complete transparency.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://jlmaggio.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joemaggio_/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggiojoseph