My two dear friends and I had an early dinner at Delicias in Rancho Santa Fe last Friday. I had been there many times before, but I could not help notice how polite, attentive and friendly the staff was. The food was always quite good in the past, but it was exceptional that evening. I think I now know why, and their names are Michael Knowles and Alex Campbell. Michael is the new Executive Chef and Alex is the GM.
Alex came over to our table a few times and made sure we had everything we needed. He also suggested the berry cobbler for dessert, which, of course we ordered, and of course did not disappoint. I think he said he personally had approximately 20 of them in the past month!
You can read a bit about Michael and his credentials below. All I know is that our satisfied tastebuds were good enough for me.
Delicias Restaurant always strives to provide each guest with a unique dining experience and plans to take that experience to the next level with Executive Chef, Michael Knowles. His first challenge has been to create a new and inspired lunch menu, featured below. “We are looking forward to expanding our culinary range with Michael,” General Manager, Alex Campbell explains. “The concept of Delicias was originally designed by Wolfgang Puck, and Michael has embraced that concept. His experience working with Wolfgang will allow him to continue what we have already accomplished at Delicias while developing his own vision for the future.”
Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California, Executive Chef, Michael Knowles developed his appreciation for quality cuisine in the exclusive resorts of the extremely popular ski-town. He expanded his appreciation into refined knowledge and experience in 1997 when he moved to San Francisco to work for Wolfgang Puck at the award winning, Postrio. After three years of unparalleled skill development and growth, Michael accepted an offer to open Soif Restaurant and Wine Bar as the Executive Chef in Downtown Santa Cruz where he became the first chef in the city to use 100% sustainable seafood. His career continued to develop and change with a move to the famous local restaurant Ostrich Grill in Aptos where his talent became locally recognized. With culinary recognition and polished skill, Michael returned to the Wolfgang Puck fine dining group in Las Vegas as the Sous Chef for both Spago and Postrio for three years.
As the Exectuive Chef of Delicias he plans to utilize the exceptionally high quality local organic ingredients to create inspired, cutting edge food that people will fall in love with. He believes in the need for sustainability and strongly supports local farmers. He plans to stay true to the food he is serving, keeping it simple yet innovative.
