Whitney Otakwa is a chef from California who has worked with several top-tier restaurants and made an appearance on Top Chef Season 9.^[6][5]

Whitney studied Anthropology at The University of California, Berkeley. She was mentored in the culinary arts by a man named Eric Leroy.

While taking French classes at the University of California-Berkeley, Whitney Otawka was hired as one member of a two-person kitchen. The owner, Eric Leroy, filled the menu with his mothers Brittany-based recipes, and spent evenings introducing Whitney to a world of gastronomy and fine wine. She continued her culinary learning in restaurants around California until she moved to Athens, Georgia in 2005, where she worked her way up to Sous Chef of 5&10 under Chef Hugh Acheson. During her years at 5&10, she took time out to hold numerous stages in New York's finest restaurants such as Per Se and Le Bernardin, and work with chefs and winemakers across Europe.

In 2010, Whitney became Executive Chef at the prestigious Greyfield Inn of Cumberland Island, until she left to join the kitchen as Executive Chef of Farm 255 and Cinco y Diez in Athens, Georgia. After filming Top Chef Season 9 in Texas, she returned to the Greyfield Inn as culinary director. ^[1]

Whitney's recipes have been published in The New York Times, Garden & Gun, Southern Living, and The Local Palate. Her first cookbook was published on October 22nd, 2019 called "The Saltwater Table: Recipes From The Coastal South." ^[18][19]

Celebrities With Cookbooks