Meet Chef Mark Estee
Inspired. Bold. Energetic.
Throughout his extensive & dynamic tenure, Chef Mark Estee has wholly embodied these traits to forge an outstanding career as a proven chef, restauranteur & community leader in Northern Nevada & beyond.
Estee’s career spans more than 27 years leading culinary teams across the nation. An ardent advocate for food entrepreneurs, he is recognized among his contemporaries as a proponent of the local food movement.
Among Estee’s core values is a belief in empowering chefs, producers, and communities by connecting people back to their food. He incorporates these philosophies into his everyday work & practices, advising chefs & restaurants in Northern Nevada & throughout the United States. To learn more about this philosophy, read his manifesto.
Following an education at Johnson and Wales University’s College of Culinary Arts, Estee embarked on his career in Boston, working for the Hyatt Corporation under mentor Eric Howson. As the executive chef at the Hyatt’s Lone Eagle Grill in Incline Village, Lake Tahoe, he honed his culinary practices under the tutelage of early pioneers for the organic, locally sourced ingredient movement.
In 2002, Estee began his work to bring life to the culinary scene of the high desert and reconnect chefs & communities with local producers with the opening of his first endeavor, Moody’s, in Truckee, CA. He has since developed an impressive & diverse portfolio of restaurants, eateries & projects in Northern Nevada & nationwide. These efforts have culminated into what has become known as Reno Local Food Group. He is viewed as a leading culinary influence in Northern Nevada and beyond.
In addition to his community & restaurant endeavors, Chef Estee has taken his talents to television, becoming the star of Food Network’s premier show, Undercover Chef. In this series, Mark sets out to diagnose problems for failing restaurants and get them back on track for success.
Currently, Mark continues bolstering his pursuit of providing locally & responsibly sourced ingredients to all of his restaurants, and their patrons. When it comes to seasonally fresh ingredients being served, you’ll find that Mark stays busy with providing the best in business.
What’s On The Menu
