Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award 2025

Michael Cimarusti

Providence, Los Angeles

Influential modern American seafood-defining chef and sustainability advocate

Given his position as a widely regarded authority on seafood in American fine dining, it's fitting that Michael Cimarusti's culinary journey started on board a boat. The New Jersey-born chef spent many crisp mornings out on his grandfather's fishing vessel in Rhode Island waters, building knowledge about what would turn out to be his life's craft.

Cimarusti left a childhood spent visiting seafood restaurants with his parents and learning about his heritage and culinary traditions from his grandmother to attend the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York. From here, he started work as a young chef in New York City at An American Place under the tutelage of chef Larry Forgione, pioneer of farm-to-table dining in the US.

In 1997, Cimarusti travelled across the country to work at Wolfgang Puck's Spago before spending six years as executive chef at Water Grill. It was here that he truly began to capture the nation's acclaim for his modern American seafood-based cooking with Californian sensibility. Then, in 2005 he opened Providence, where, true to its name, sustainable sourcing is king.

Here, Cimarusti focuses on high-quality wild seafood caught primarily in American waters. As well as championing simple, precise cooking with signature dishes such as salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns served tableside in a rosemary salt crust, the restaurant's operational practices also reflect Cimarusti's commitment to sustainability: a rooftop garden for produce, hives of bees to pollinate crops and products packaged in glass or metal instead of plastic.

In its 20th year, Providence has been awarded three Michelin stars, two of which have been held by the restaurant since 2008, while Cimarusti holds accolades including a James Beard Award for Best Chef: West (2019) and has been recognised by Robb Report as one of the 50 Most Powerful People in American Fine Dining in 2024.

Outside of the kitchen, Cimarusti is a longtime collaborator with the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch organisation, who work to improve sustainable fishing practices across the globe, and supporter of food industry-led childhood cancer charity, LA Loves Alex's Lemonade.

While Cimarusti's career has taken him from rural New England waterways to high-end LA dining, one thing has remained steadfast: his deep respect for the sea. His tireless innovation, integrity and commitment to sustainability has earned him great esteem from the restaurant world at large, with his peers choosing to honour him with the Estrella Damm Chef's Choice Award 2025.

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