Kokopelli, the Southwestern-inspired small plates restaurant slated to open in the former Pearl space in December, named Gina Rodriguez as its chef. Rodriguez who is a third generation female chef — both her mother and grandmother were also chefs — whose impressive resume includes stints with John Besh at Restaurant August in New Orleans, from which she was tapped to cook at the James Beard House, and Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in her home state of Arizona. Later as chef de cuisine at The Ventana Room, she was the first woman to secure a AAA Five-Diamond Award. At BlueFire Grill, the signature restaurant at LaCosta Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California, Rodriguez developed a style all her own that combined classical French technique with Spanish, Italian and Mediterranean influences.
Earlier: Kokopelli Coming in December
