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How One Chef is Sharing San Diego’s Fishing Culture with a Few of America’s Top Chefs

Ironside Fish & Oyster Executive Chef Jason McLeod kicks off a new iteration of his famed Chef’s Catch Dinner Series

By Lauren Winget

Little Italy’s Ironside Fish & Oyster has been at the forefront of San Diego’s seafood revival ever since it opened in 2014. Executive Chef Jason McLeod has made it a point to source his proteins in a way that highlights the local fishing community and the seafaring culture that is undergoing a renaissance in town. Using our own backyard (aka the Pacific Ocean), Chef McLeod has become a mainstay and a sort of ambassador at the Tuna Dockside Market, the Saturday marketplace where local fishermen and fishmongers sell their catch, fresh from the waters of San Diego and Baja. Now he’s showing off what our fishing community is all about with a revamped dinner series, featuring a few of the country’s top chefs paired alongside the city’s best seafood and craft cocktails.

The 2019 Chef’s Catch Dinner Series kicks off on Tuesday, February 26 with chef Daniel Heinze, from LA’s Joint Venture Restaurant Group, joining McLeod in the kitchen for a two-night stint cooking their choice of seafood sourced directly from Tuna Dockside. The à la carte menu crafted by a featured chef and the Ironside team will be available for two nights each month, starting February 26 and 27. Chef Lee Cooper from Coquille and L’Abattoir will join the line on June 4 and 5.

Chef McLeod says his goal in hosting these chefs at Ironside is for them “to leave San Diego saying, ‘We had no idea how amazing San Diego is,’ and be completely jealous of the product available here all year long, so when they go back home, they spread the word about San Diego in a very positive light.”

Chef’s Catch Dinner Series 2019 Lineup:

Daniel Heinze, Independent Chef / Joint Venture Restaurant Group: February 26–27

Giuseppe Tentori, GT Fish & Oyster / GT Prime: March 12–13

Lee Wolen, Boka / Somerset: April 9–10

Danny Grant, Maple & Ash / Etta: May 7–8

Lee Cooper, Coquille/L’Abattoir: June 4–5

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