Growing up in Watsonville on the central coast of California, Jacob Wildman cultivated a great appreciation for local, seasonal and sustainable products. With a passion for farmers markets and responsible sourcing, Wildman worked for over fifteen years with some of the most well-respected chefs in Los Angeles before transitioning to cooking privately.

After initially pursuing a degree in business administration, Wildman decided in 2001 to follow his love of cooking and food and moved to Hawai’i to attend the award-winning Culinary Arts program at Kapi’olani Community College. Wildman finished at the top of his graduating class while earning degrees in both Culinary Arts and Patisserie.

Back on the mainland, Wildman started his professional cooking career in Los Angeles at Doug Arango’s Restaurant in West Hollywood, which earned a two star review in the Los Angeles Times during his tenure there. In 2004, Wildman worked at the critically acclaimed Spago in Beverly Hills, refining his palate and perfecting his ability to balance and season artfully crafted dishes.

In 2005, Wildman left Spago to begin work at Table 8 with Chef Govind Armstrong.  Wildman stayed at Table 8 for the next few years, assisting with the menu and concept development for 8 oz. Burger Bar and helping to open new locations of Table 8 and 8 oz. nation-wide. While he was there, Table 8 received three stars from the LA Times, and 8 oz. received one and a half stars from the LA Times and was listed in LA Weekly on Jonathan Gold’s “Essential 99” list of restaurants in the city.

In 2011, Wildman moved on to work with Chef Andrew Kirschner and help design, conceptualize as well as operate as the Executive Sous Chef at Tar & Roses in Santa Monica.  While there Tar & Roses was awarded the best new restaurant award from Angeleno Magazine.

2013 Wildman returned to his roots in Santa Cruz County as the Executive Chef of Cafe Rio in Aptos.  Being back on the Central Coast provided Wildman the chance to delve deeper in to the history of California and the importance of respecting culinary craftsmanship.  During this time Wildman really began to embrace cooking his own style of classic California Cuisine: melding the philosophies of rustic country cooking with Mediterranean flavors, mission-era foods and rancho style Californio Cuisine with the abundance of fresh seafood from the Monterey Bay and local produce from the Pajaro Valley.

2015 brought on new opportunities and Wildman couldn’t pass up the challenge to cook privately for 9-time NBA All-Star, and Olympic Gold Medalist, Paul George.  It was only after taking a step out of the convenience of the restaurant kitchen to the comfort of a home kitchen full time that all of the years of experience seemed to come full circle as Wildman truly began to understand the needs of a home cook.  Home made condiments such as spice blends, barbecue rubs, sauces, marinades and the like have always been a very important ingredient in Wildman’s cooking in each of his restaurants.  However, creating a range of different unique and healthy meals daily at home proved to be the catalyst to search out alternatives to the generic products carried on most grocery store shelves.

In early 2015, to fill the void he found on grocery shelves, Wildman created Bird Valley Foodstuff in order to share some of his favorite foods, condiments and recipes by offering exciting products at affordable prices without compromising taste or quality of ingredients. With Bird Valley Foodstuff, Wildman aims to simplify cooking at home while inspiring the home cook with the same products and recipes that he uses daily for his clients.

When not in the kitchen you will generally find Jacob with his head buried in a pile of cook books, out on a long bike ride, home-brewing some beer or woodworking, building custom farmhouse style furniture for himself and friends.