Ethan Mantle
Ethan Mantle has a caliber of experience rare in the catering field and has trained in some of the top kitchens in the world.
Ethan’s quest to become a great chef began at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, where he received the Wine Spectator’s Award for Excellence, the prestigious Williams-Sonoma Scholarship and was elected by his peers to be the class graduation speaker. Following graduation he apprenticed at the world renowned restaurant Georges Blanc in Vonnas, France. Sixteen hours a day for four months he spent time in every area of the kitchen, a rare opportunity at a restaurant that was the recipient of three Michelin stars, the highest honor in Europe. Every day purveyors would show up just after dawn with fresh Perigord black truffles, Breton blue lobsters, live scallops in the shell and local Bresse bluefoot chickens.
Upon returning to California Ethan spent two weeks in Yosemite at the Ahwahnee Hotel Chef’s Holidays where he assisted various guest chefs and met Roland Henin, the mentor to Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. Chef Henin made a personal call and Ethan was accepted as a stagiaire at the French Laundry, an establishment often called the best restaurant in America.
After a short time Ethan was offered a Chef de Partie position at the French Laundry just as he got a call from another famous chef he had met at the Chef’s Holidays, this time Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys, then the number one restaurant in San Francisco. It was a great dilema for a young cook to have. Ethan accepted the Assistant Pastry Chef position with Hubert and later went on to become Chef Tournant at Fleur de Lys. In addition to having four stars from the SF Chronicle and being recognized by virtually every leading food publication in the late nineties, Fleur de Lys also had the top ranked Zagat vegetarian tasting menu in the nation.
His next stop was Farallon restaurant in San Francisco, where he was a Sous Chef and then Private Dining Chef of the restaurant’s three private dining rooms. At the time Farallon consistently received three and a half stars from the Chronicle, unheard of for such a large restaurant. Ethan gained extensive knowledge of a wide array of sustainable seafood and learned specialized skills such as preparing and curing housemade caviar.
Ethan’s diverse experience also includes cooking at Erna’s Elderberry House in the five-star inn, Chateau du Sureau, in Oakhurst, California. During his tenure there as lead line cook, the Elderberry House tied with the French Laundry restaurant for the best Zagat food score in California. At The Lodge at Pebble Beach, he worked throughout the resort’s restaurants and catered for thousands in corporate V.I.P. tents at events such as the AT&T Pro-Am tournaments where he became familiar with the logistics of organizing huge catered events and maintaining a high level of quality.