Leslie Myers is a culinary professional with over thirty years of experience including healthy eating and cooking specialist; culinary instructor; restaurant owner and operator; caterer; operations manager; chef, pastry chef; raw foods chef and culinary instructor. She is the founder and owner of Foodsense, Now!; a company devoted to the educating, preparing and catering of culinary dishes and events using unprocessed, organic and locally sourced products.
A 1991 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a 1989 graduate of James Madison University, Leslie moved to Napa Valley where she worked as the pastry chef of prestigious Mustards Grill. In 1993, she left to open Bistro Don Giovanni, a contemporary Italian restaurant located in north Napa. In the fall of 1995, Leslie opened Greystone Restaurant at the Culinary Institute of America in Santa Helena, California. While living in Napa Valley, Leslie was also an operations manager of a specialty food outlet, Palisades Market; as well as co-owned In Good Company, a wedding and specialty cake and dessert business.
In April of 1996, Leslie moved to Vermont where she worked as a culinary instructor at the New England Culinary Institute. In June of 1997, Leslie opened a contemporary American restaurant, Smokejacks, on the historic Church Street Marketplace in downtown Burlington, Vermont, which she operated until May of 2008. Smokejacks built a reputation for serving unpretentious, contemporary, farm-fresh American cuisine and wines in a neighborhood setting. The restaurant was a recipient of numerous awards including multiple Wine Spectator “Awards for Excellence”, Gourmet magazine’s “Top 100, and USA Today’s Top 10 Burgers in America.
In 2009, Leslie relocated to North County San Diego to pursue her triathlon training and further development of Foodsense, Now!. In May of 2010, Leslie joined the culinary instruction staff of Sur La Table, a specialty kitchen store located in Carlsbad, California. Leslie also teaches culinary classes privately and at the Center for a Healthy Lifestyle in Solana Beach, California. In addition to teaching, Leslie is a frequent guest on San Diego Living where she demonstrates various healthy recipes. Leslie is also nationally recognized long distance triathlete and runner.
