Scott Wagner
Executive Chef of Chileco

Executive Chef Scott Wagner developed very early passions for cooking, culture, gardening, herbs and the environment.

At the age of six, the serious chef-in-waiting could be found huddled over his Fisher Price “ready bake” oven. But it did not take long for that passion to lead him to the kitchen where he secretly conducted early culinary trials. These trials would lead the aspiring artist to regularly prepare three course meals from his most recently rented cookbook.

A native of a rural farm town in Wisconsin, Wagner assumed responsibility for the family garden and transformed a patch of land into an extensively diverse garden with over one hundred herbs, forty vegetables and thirty varieties of fruit.

“Everything I learned about optimal organic flavors was conceived as an apprenticing farmer … digging in the dirt!”

Parental expectations mandated Scotty to a formal education at UW-LaCrosse, but after three years he could not quiet his spirit. Persistent on pursuing a career as a chef, Wagner left school and with no more than 1,500 dollars he spontaneously moved to San Francisco to enroll at the prestigious California Culinary Academy. Shortly thereafter, he was hired as a pastry assistant for MECCA - one of SF’s ultra chic restaurants. Under the guiding influence and culinary infusion of Michael Fennelly, who was voted America’s Chef of the Year 1993, Chef Scotty excelled at mastering his knowledge of ethnic recipes, flavors and techniques.

“MECCA was a true growing experience for me professionally. Fennelly taught me how to push my culinary boundaries to add a repertoire of Southeast Asian spice and flavor into my cooking.” Chef Scotty’s contemporary cuisine has been praised in San Diego’s Riviera Magazine, December 2008 issue of San Diego Magazine, Rancho Santa Fe’s Ranch & Coast and he has received national exposure as a guest chef on Bravo. Wagner was recently profiled in the Union Tribune’s “Street” and featured in Catersource Magazine as the top green caterer of Southern California. Chef Scotty is a frequent guest on San Diego’s television stations and he won the 2008 celebrity chef showdown as well as placing fifth at the 2008 San Diego Bay Wine & Food Festival.

Chef Scotty is a board member for Slow Food Urban San Diego and regularly contributes his cooking skills to charitable events for groups benefiting Cerebral Palsy, Alzheimer’s & Cancer Research, San Diego Schools, AIDS research & community outreach, Parks & Conservation, Organic and Environmental Lobbyists.

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