Joe Sasto
Current Residency: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Chef, Culinary Consultant and Collaborator
A finalist on Top ChefSeason 15 in Colorado, Joe Sasto found his love for cooking as a child, spending time in the kitchen with his mother. Instead of taking the traditional path of culinary school, he spent his undergraduate years at the University of California at Davis, largely sustained by cooking gigs and his driving passion for food. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Joe opened a restaurant as a line cook in Ukiah, CA, earning a swift education in the business, its pitfalls, and a passion of the restaurant world.Read More
Current Residency: Los Angeles, CA
Occupation: Chef, Culinary Consultant and Collaborator
A finalist on Top Chef Season 15 in Colorado, Joe Sasto found his love for cooking as a child, spending time in the kitchen with his mother. Instead of taking the traditional path of culinary school, he spent his undergraduate years at the University of California at Davis, largely sustained by cooking gigs and his driving passion for food. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Joe opened a restaurant as a line cook in Ukiah, CA, earning a swift education in the business, its pitfalls, and a passion of the restaurant world. He then decided it was time to move to San Francisco, and began to work under Chef Jason Berthold, making the rise from line cook to sous chef in just six short months. Following a break to travel through Europe, he brought his newly found international inspiration to San Francisco at Quince’s rustic Italian sister-restaurant Cotogna, before moving over to the highly acclaimed Quince. Under Chef Michael Tusk, he spent over three years at the restaurant contributing to its rise from one to three-Michelin stars. Learning the ropes and roots from one of America’s most celebrated Italian-influenced chefs, Joe was ultimately trusted to manage the handmade pasta program. Joe continued to grow and moved on to become Executive Sous Chef at Lazy Bear with Chef David Barzelay. while there, he contributed in the restaurant’s rise from one to two-Michelin stars. Joe moved to Los Angeles in 2017 to help a friend open a restaurant, serving as the Executive Chef. Currently, Chef Joe is outside of the "traditional" restaurant, hosting private events, fine-dining dinner parties and pasta classes as part of his pop-up series Tanto Si. He plans to move back to Northern California, where he is looking forward to opening up his dream restaurant.
