Hometown proud

November/December 2023 California Bountiful magazine

cross — Sergio Jimenez is chef de cuisine at the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego. Photo: © 2023 David Poller

San Diego chef makes his mark at resort’s signature restaurant

Story by Barbara Arciero
Photos by David Poller

High school graduation unfolded a little differently for Sergio Jimenez. At 16, the San Diego native received his diploma as well as his culinary arts degree within a week of each other, while also holding down a part-time restaurant job.

“I’m very impatient,” says Jimenez, as he laughingly recalls his overlapping and accelerated timeline. “I want things now. And I wanted, at the time as a kid, to learn as much as I could because I wanted to be the very best of the best.”

He’s well on his way. Now, at 28, Jimenez serves as chef de cuisine of AVANT. He leads the signature restaurant of the Rancho Bernardo Inn, a 265-acre resort tucked among the rolling hills of San Diego’s North County.

“Growing up, I never wanted to settle for just basic. And this hotel has everything that a chef ever wants,” he says. “It’s a dream come true for me, especially in my hometown.”

From the perspective of a chef who prioritizes vegetables over proteins, the chef’s garden is one of the resort’s key amenities.

“That was one of the reasons why I wanted to work here,” Jimenez says. “We have over 50 different types of herbs, about 15 vegetables and 15 to 20 fruit trees and bushes that I get to play around with.”

Although he plans to eventually expand his brand beyond his hometown, Jimenez says his current focus is to make a splash in the local culinary scene.

“I love working really hard and I want my city to notice that,” he says. “And, being that I’m a kid that grew up here in the streets of San Diego, I want to make sure that I have that connection with my city first before I expand my wings anywhere else.”

Barbara Arciero

Syracuse fingerling potatoes: Serve these flavorful potatoes as an accompaniment to steak or another favorite entrée. Or, do as chef Sergio Jimenez does and eat them warm or cold as a snack.

Grilled broccoli with hummus: Charring the broccoli is a key to this dish’s popularity on AVANT’s bar menu: “Charring vegetables is probably my favorite technique,” chef Sergio Jimenez says. “Just let the natural sugars caramelize on it. Don’t be afraid to burn it.”

Grilled Carrots with bone marrow cream sauce: Chef Sergio Jimenez added this dish to AVANT’s menu as an homage to a childhood favorite his mother made with pork, tomato sauce and carrots. “I wanted to create something very similar to that.”

Seared scallop with hominy risotto: Risotto is a staple of Italian cuisine and posole is a staple of Mexican cuisine and chef Sergio Jimenez’s childhood home. Here, he blends the two cultures to create what has become a signature dish at AVANT.

Crispy snapper with white mole: Although there are many ingredients in this recipe, chef Sergio Jimenez says it’s fairly easy to prepare. Regarding the snapper, “there’s no need to clean the scales, as we crisp them up in a method used by Chinese cuisine, in which we ladle hot oil over the top of the fish skin and let the fish scales slowly puff and crisp up.”