Margarita Kallas-Lee, originally from Latvia, grew up on picking fruits and vegetables from grandparent’s farm and experimenting with flavors in their kitchen from a young age, indelibly imprinting her love of cooking. Kallas-Lee moved to the United States at age 7 and was drawn to the culinary world, working catering events around Los Angeles. In 2011, she officially donned her toque and answered the lifelong call of a culinary career, joining the historic D'Cache in Toluca Lake as pastry chef. Kallas-Lee soon combined her talents with Chef Phillip Frankland Lee, and in 2013 the talented husband and wife went on to open their signature restaurant, Scratch|Bar & Kitchen, first in Beverly Hills before moving the restaurant to Encino in 2015.
As Executive Pastry Chef of Scratch Restaurants Group, Kallas-Lee showcases her worldly-yet-refined pâtissier sensibilities, designing and running the pastry program for all of the Scratch Restaurants concepts, including Scratch|Bar & Kitchen, Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Los Angeles, Montecito, Austin, and Miami, Pasta|Bar Los Angeles as well as Pasta Bar Austin. Kallas-Lee’s meticulously imaginative approach to dessert acts as the exclamation point ending dinner at each of the Scratch concepts. With burgeoning accolades of her own, Kallas-Lee was named a semi-finalist for Eater’s “Young Guns” 2016, Zagat’s “30 Under 30” 2016 Most recently, Kallas-Lee’s contributions led to Michelin Stars for both Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Montecito and Pasta|Bar Los Angeles. Although each of the Lees’ concepts are independent and unique from one another, the constant thread that ties all of Scratch Restaurants together is the dedication to the artisanal “from scratch” approach to hospitality handcrafting every element of the dinner. In pursuit of taste, each unique iteration from the Scratch Restaurants Group team has reconnected guests to farmers, producers, purveyors, and the chefs that create each dish with passion, integrity, and community in mind, while demonstrating excellence in cuisine and hospitality. Kallas-Lee’s approach to the fine dining experience and commitment to configuring global cuisine to enhance local ingredients continue to make a significant impact in the culinary world. Margarita and her husband Phillip have most recently opened Sushi by Scratch Restaurants in Miami, Seattle with Montreal and Chicago coming soon early 2023. |
Pasta|Bar is a bold new addition to the Scratch|Restaurant family. Join Chef Margarita, on an exciting 'from scratch' dinner adventure of fresh pasta, inspired by the flavors of Texas and the culinary techniques of Italy.
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