Mixx american bistro - executive chef Tricia Tracey
Chef Tricia Tracey was born and raised in Northern New Jersey. The youngest of six children, Tricia began cooking at home while still a teenager where she discovered a natural love for food. She worked in restaurant kitchens during high school where she decided that culinary training should be her next step. Chef Tracey attended Johnson and Wales University where she received an Associates Degree in Culinary Arts and a Bachelors Degree in Food Service Management, respectively.
Upon completing her education, she returned to the north east working at the Black Orchid Restaurant for two years. From there, Chef Tracey moved onto the Hyatt Regency in Greenwich Connecticut as Chef de Cuisine of their signature restaurant – Conde’s Club America. During her time with the Hyatt Tricia also assumed the responsibilities of dining room manager of Conde’s. This was a welcome challenge which allowed her the opportunity to hone her managerial skills and become more in tuned with front of the house operations. In 1993, Chef Tracey moved to San Francisco to further advance her career. Immediately she joined the Real Restaurants Team as a Sous Chef at Roti and was promoted to Executive Chef in 1994. She was at the helm in the kitchen at Roti over four years. Roti, a west coast grill, focused on rotisserie cooking and fresh local ingredients. There was an extensive raw bar, a strong emphasis on food and wine pairing and exacting service with a friendly warm demeanor.
In the late spring of 1998 Chef Tracey joined forces with Peter Osborne of the Washington Square Bar and Grill to be the guiding force in the kitchen on his new project; MoMo’s San Francisco Grill. She began work on the project two months prior to it’s opening in September of 1998 and stayed on the pitchers mound of this busy South Beach eatery across the street from the new Pac Bell Park, home of the San Francisco Giants for two years. At MoMo’s Tracey served up hearty portions of her Rustic American fare featuring such signature items as seared rare ahi with spicy bok choy slaw, succulent Jack Daniel’s BBQ baby back ribs, and brick chicken “in and under”.
After some well-earned time off, and some travel time, Trish joined forces with the well known Kimpton Group as opening Chef of Helios, Global Brasserie in the Cypress hotel, in the Silicon Valley. Her menu at Helios earned her a 3 star review and a good local following. While she enjoyed the hustle and variety of running such a large operation, including a 200 person ball room, room service and a full service upscale dining room serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, she missed the city atmosphere and the San Francisco dining scene.
Back on the scene in San Francisco, Trish join the team of ThirstyBear Brewing Company and Ramblas Tapas where she served as Executive Chef for both of these Spanish eateries. Overseeing both kitchens gave Trish the challenge of multi-unit management while allowing for much creative expression and room to explore her love of Spanish cuisine.
Tricia Tracey is known and respected in the San Francisco Restaurant community for her enthusiasm, drive, dedication, love of food, spirits and people, and her commitment to hard work. Her ability to motivate staff through hard work and strong leadership abilities is balanced by her well rounded experience in the day to day operations of running a successful, profitable restaurant. She is looking forward to bringing all of her years of experience and her passion back to her home state of New Jersey to embark on an exciting new venture of her own at the Jersey Shore.
Chef Tracey has a very simple philosophy:“....start with a passion for food, the best ingredients, a cozy atmosphere and the result will be a memorable experience”