Mike Minor has always enjoyed being in the kitchen. He said his earliest memories include cooking in the kitchen with his mother and grandmother. The Pittsburgh, PA native said he would peel potatoes with his grandmother at 6 years old. At 9, he learned how to make a perfect omelet for his mother.
At 14, he began making pizzas while working a summer job.
“I then worked my way up through the restaurant from dish to executive chef and even assistant general manager,” Minor said.
Minor climbed the ladder to work with world-renowned chefs such as Susan Finger, Mary Sue Millikan and Wolfgang Puck.
Today, Minor can be found leading the team at The Marine Room, an 80-year-old eatery that sits on the shores of La Jolla.
“It’s a dream come true to be able to work at an amazing place and to be so close to the ocean,” Minor said. “As a rising star chef for sustainability, it means everything to be able to be close to the very ecosystem we are looking to protect and to be able to use the Marine Room’s platform to help fight for sustainability. It really is an iconic establishment and it’s been an exciting challenge as a chef in a place with so much history.”
Although the restaurant is decades-old, Minor said he and his team are bringing a “modern and fresh approach.”
“There’s a young new team inside the kitchen and I have filled it with amazing talent,” Minor said. “We are constantly creating new food so the menu changes almost weekly with the chef’s specials. There’s always something new to try at The Marine Room.”
Some of the new items that have become customer favorites include the “cones,” including a tuna tartare cone stuffed with tuna marinated in togarashi, finished with Kaluga caviar and serrano soy glaze or the Ora King salmon cone finished with yuzu crema and Kaluka caviar. Minor’s first dish for the restaurant is the Peruvian-inspired swordfish with Peruvian purple potato purée, shrimp Salpicon, Aji Amarillo Berre Blanc and Brazilian pico.
And, Minor who currently lives in Point Loma with his wife and three dogs, said he’s just getting started.
“We want to be the best and we’re working hard behind the scenes to bring new ideas and new ways to ‘wow’ our guests,” he said.
