Born and raised in France, Jean-Pierre graduated from the Hotel School of Toulouse and trained in Germany and France. In 1975, following a stint in Washington D.C., Jean-Pierre first moved to California to join Alice Waters and Jeremiah Tower at Chez Panisse. In the early 1980’s, Jean-Pierre returned to France to lead a cooking and travel program in the near Bordeaux, France, and in 1990 returned to Chez Panisse where he serves the restaurant as head chef for six months of the year.
David Tanis
Restaurant Co-Chef
David Tanis was born in Ohio and has been working at Chez Panisse on and off since the 1980s. He was the head chef at the café before moving to Santa Fe to work as the head chef of Café Escalera. When he returned to Chez Panisse, he assumed the position of co-Chef of the restaurant, splitting the year with his colleague Jean-Pierre Moulle. He spends the other half of the year in Paris, where he hosts a private dining club. He is most recently the author of A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes.
Cal Peternell
Cafe Co-Chef
Cal Peternell grew up on a small farm in New Jersey and graduated with a BFA in painting from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. After graduation, Cal moved to Lucca, Italy with his wife to pursue their art careers. Upon his return to the United States, he started cooking at Bix in San Francisco. He continued his career at Biba and The Blue Room in Boston, and returned to San Francisco as sous chef at Loretta Keller’s Bizou. Cal joined Chez Panisse in 1995 and has been Co-Chef since 2000.
Beth Wells
Cafe Co-Chef
Beth Wells grew up in Friendswood, Texas, a Quaker town near Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Beth moved to San Francisco. Upon graduation from culinary school, she started as a volunteer in the Chez Panisse kitchen. She moved quickly through the ranks, becoming sous chef, and in 2008, co-chef of Chez Panisse Café.
Stacie Pierce
Pastry Co-Chef
Stacie Pierce grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota before moving to Norway to pursue a Master’s degree in Nordic Archeology at the University of Oslo. Upon graduation, Stacie remained in Oslo and worked for several years as a cook at Café Celsius and worked as translator of children’s books for a major Norwegian publisher. She returned to the United States to work at Foreign Cinema, and volunteered in the pastry kitchen at Oliveto. Stacie came to Chez Panisse in 2004 and was promoted to co-pastry chef in 2007. She also serves as a co-curator for the experimental San Francisco restaurant, OPEN.
Mia Ponce
Pastry Co-Chef
Mia Ponce was born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia and attended the University of Colorado where she studied Women’s Studies and French Literature. After working in a New York City restaurant she decided to go to culinary school at l’Institute Paul Bocuse in Lyon. Mia spent two years working in Paris and Lyon before coming back to the states and moving to the Bay Area in 2000. In and around San Francisco, she worked at La Nouvelle Patisserie, Elisabeth Daniel, Bouchon Bakery and Domaine Chandon before she came to Chez Panisse in 2005.
Our Chefs