ALO Demo Kitchen Theater Presentation
Saturday, April 10th | 1:30pm

Eric Greenspan began his foray into the restaurant business as a dish washer at the Café Med, a Berkeley breakfast establishment for over 40 years.  Two weeks later he had reached the head chef position, and for the next three years served as head chef and general manager of the café, generating over $1 million in revenue.

Following his graduation from the University of California, Berkeley’s prestigious Haas School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Eric attended acclaimed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris, France.  He went on to train in New York with such celebrated chefs as Alain Ducasse, David Bouley, and Rocco DeSpirito, as well as apprenticing at 3 star Michelin chef Ferran Adrià’s El Bulli in Rosas, Spain.

As Executive Chef for almost two years at Los Angeles’ world-acclaimed Patina Restaurant, Eric Greenspan was named one of Angeleno Magazine’s “Eight Hot Chefs” in 2003, as well as garnering critical acclaim for his imaginative and bold cuisine.  His kitchen scored a 27/30 in the 2004 Zagat Guide for food quality and was the top-ranked French Restaurant in that same publication, while still maintaining high marks for overall popularity.  In the fall of 2004 Eric teamed up with Tim Goodell and  Domaine Restaurants to open Meson G in the former Citrus restaurant location on Melrose Avenue.  Eric was involved in and responsible for all pre-opening aspects of the project, including restaurant and kitchen design, overseeing construction, menu formulation, initial staffing, budgeting, and acquisition of restaurant assets and equipment.  Meson G opened to rave reviews and became a profitable business, receiving 2 ½ stars from the Los Angeles Times, 4 stars from Angeleno Magazine, and achieving $250,000 of monthly sales revenue after only 12 weeks of operation.  However, operational and creative differences led to the eventual firing of Greenspan, resulting in public disapproval and declining sales.

In the Spring of 2007, Eric opened The Foundry on Melrose to top reviews and resounding success.  The Foundry was awarded 2 ½ stars from the Los Angeles Times and was runner-up for Los Angeles Magazine's “Best New Restaurant.”  The Foundry further garnered Conde Nast Traveler Magazine’s Best New Restaurant award and was a semi-finalist for The James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant in the country.  With its swanky bar, live jazz, and un-surpassed cuisine,  The Foundry on Melrose has already established itself as a player on the Los Angeles Scene, having been selected in Los Angeles Magazine’s Top 75, as well as Johnathan Gold of LA Weekly’s the “Essential 99.”

Eric has made appearances on numerous food-related television and radio programs, and has been written up in such noted industry publications as The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Art Culinaire, Los Angeles Confidential, Angeleno, and Los Angeles Magazine.

In 2009, Eric was a finalist on The Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef,” was 944 Magazine’s “Most Buzzworthy Chef in America,” and was a featured guest dj on KCRW 89.9.  He is currently planning the opening of his second restaurant, a quickserve concept called "Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese,” already chosen by ZagatBuzz as one of Los Angeles’ most anticipated openings of 2010.