About the Chef

About Joseph Humphrey, our Michelin two-star Executive Chef

As Executive Chef at Cavallo Point, Joseph Humphrey oversees all cuisine at Murray Circle, Farley Bar, Cavallo Point's on-site cooking school, and banquet service for meetings, groups and special events.

Prior to his Cavallo Point appointment, Joseph was the restaurant chef at The Restaurant at Meadowood in Napa Valley, which earned a place on Esquire's "Best New Restaurants 2007" list and garnered a two-star rating in the "2008 Michelin Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country" -- a rare feat for a new restaurant.

Before joining Meadowood in 2006, Joseph received his introduction to the Napa Valley culinary scene as executive chef at Auberge du Soleil. Working in the wine country was the perfect pairing for Joseph's culinary philosophy. His style is to use the finest local, organic and sustainable ingredients available, skillfully prepared with influences of France, Spain, and the Mediterranean, resulting in an intensity of natural flavor while maintaining lightness and elegance.

Before Napa, Joseph held the position of corporate chef for Michael Mina, Bon Appetit's Chef of the Year in 2005. In this role he helped to develop new restaurants and served as chef de cuisine at Mina and George Morrone's Redwood Park in downtown San Francisco. Joseph also worked with Morrone to open Fifth Floor, one of Wine Spectator's "Top 20 Restaurants in the U.S." A four-star, four-diamond restaurant, Fifth Floor offered Joseph the opportunity to create distinct flavors with a modern French-Californian feel. He also worked at One Market under Morrone and another superstar chef, Bradley Ogden. In this "open kitchen" style restaurant, Joseph was able to showcase his talent for California cuisine while working closely with San Francisco's top culinary masters.

Previous engagements included working with Julian Serrano to open Picasso at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. Learning from Master Chef Serrano, the first James Beard award-winning chef in Las Vegas, Joseph furthered his knowledge of regional and seasonal cuisine, specifically in the restaurant's French-Mediterranean style.

Prior to his move West, Joseph started his post-graduate culinary career in New Orleans. There he learned contemporary Creole cuisine under the tutelage of one of the nation's top restaurateurs, Dickie Brennan, at the acclaimed Palace Café, a French Quarter restaurant recognized as a "Best New Restaurant" by USA Today. New Orleans is where Joseph truly fell in love with the restaurant business - the constant challenges, the energy, and above all, the dedication to the craft of cooking.

Joseph has a degree in international affairs from Florida State University, where he put himself through college working in the restaurant industry (in which he started at age 16). Soon after graduating, he realized cooking is his true passion, and started on his heralded professional path.

Joseph grew up in Tallahassee, a location rich in Southern traditions where Cajun flavors and the fresh produce of local farmers kindled his fondness for seasonal ingredients and heady spices.