CIA Alumni Bio
When Brandon Rice’s mother took over his grandfather’s flower shop in Roanoke, VA seven-year-old Brandon began cooking for his family. This unexpected turn of events started him down a path that would turn into a career. Brandon loved preparing food for his family and found it very rewarding.
Youthful Indiscretion
At 13, after borrowing a golf cart without permission and then crashing it, he needed to work off the cost of his mistake. His parents had him take a job cooking at the nursing home his father owned. The punishment turned into a pleasure, which carried Rice on to a fine-dining restaurant in Roanoke before he took off for The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
Building Experiences
After an externship at Daniel in New York City and another at high-volume, Toppers on Nantucket, MA, Rice graduated and moved to Boston to work with mentor Ken Oringer at Clio. After rising to the position of sous chef, Rice took his talents to Europe, staging at Quique Dacosta in Alicante, Spain and Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark. Returning stateside to Clio, he spent two more years under the wing of his mentor. Then, like many Oringer protégés, Rice moved to San Francisco, working for Daniel Patterson at Coi, before finding a home with Rising Stars alumni Evan and Sarah Rich at Rich Table.
In 2019, Brandon left Rich Table to work on his first solo restaurant he named Ernest after his grandfather. Located a short walk from Chad Robertson’s ’93 Tartine Manufactory, the menu will be inspired by Brandon’s travels and focused on Asian flavors. The restaurant is set to open in the winter of 2020.
Brandon Rice was selected as one of the 2016 San Francisco Rising Stars by StarChefs.com at their annual Gala in June 2016. The awards celebrate the new wave, the avant-garde, and the best and brightest of young chefs.
Chef Brandon Rice majored in culinary arts at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He is the chef-de-cuisine at Rich Table in San Francisco, CA.