Eric Greenspan

Eric Greenspan began his foray into the restaurant business as a dishwasher at the Berkeley breakfast establishment Café Med.  Only two weeks later he became its head chef, and for the next three years served as both head chef and general manager for the café, generating over $1 million in revenue.

Following his graduation from the UC Berkeley’s prestigious Haas School of Business with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Eric attended the acclaimed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in Paris.  He went on to train in New York with such celebrated chefs as Alain Ducasse, David Bouley and Rocco DeSpirito, as well as apprenticing at three-star Michelin chef Ferran Adria’s El Bulli in Rosas, Spain.

As executive chef for almost two years at Los Angeles’ world acclaimed Patina, Eric garnered critical acclaim for his imaginative and bold cuisine and was named one of Angeleno Magazine’s “Eight Hot Chefs” in 2003.  His kitchen scored a 27/30 in the 2004 Zagat Guide for food quality and was the top-ranked French restaurant in the same publication.

In the fall of 2004 Eric teamed up with Tim Goodell and Domaine Restaurants to open Meson G on Melrose Avenue.  Eric was involved in all aspects of the project, including restaurant and kitchen design, menu formulation, initial staffing, budgeting, and acquisition of restaurant assets and equipment.  Meson G opened to rave reviews and a profitable business, receiving 2 ½ stars from the Los Angeles Times, 4 stars from Angeleno Magazine, and achieving $250,000 of monthly sales revenue after only 12 weeks of operation.

In Spring 2007, Eric opened The Foundry on Melrose to similarly rave reviews and resounding success.  The Foundry was awarded 2 ½ stars from the Los Angeles Times and was runner-up for Los Angeles Magazines “Best New Restaurant.”  With its swanky bar, live music and unsurpassed cuisine, the restaurant has earned a swath of accolades.  Condé Nast Traveler named it Best New Restaurant; it made Los Angeles Magazine’s Top 75 as well as the “Essential 99” restaurants of LA Weekly Pulitzer-winning food critic Jonathan Gold.  The Foundry was also a semi-finalist for The James Beard Foundation’s Best New Restaurant in America.

Eric Greenspan has been profiled by such publications as The New York Times, Wine Spectator, Art Culinaire, Los Angeles Confidential, Angeleno and Los Angeles Magazine.  Named 944 Magazine’s “Most Buzzworthy Chef in America,” he was on the Food Network’s “The Next Iron Chef” and recently defeated bobby Flay on “Iron Chef America.”  He also won the 2008 Grilled Cheese Invitational, and that award winning sandwich is featured at The Roof on Wilshire. 

Greenspan created the Foundation Hospitality Group with partners Jay Perrin and Jim Hustead. FHG’s portfolio of ventures include The Foundry on Melrose, The Roof on Wilshire (atop the Hotel Wilshire), and the upcoming Greenspan’s Grilled Cheese, a sandwich concept adjacent to The Foundry on Melrose, as well as El Ñosh, a Latin/Jewish fusion pop up restaurant and food truck spearheaded by Puerto Rican based Chef Roberto Trevino and Chef Greenspan.

« Back to Talent