About Chef's Jose & shruti

Jose Vazquez was born and raised in East Los Angeles. He can vividly recall the commercial he saw as a child that led him into the kitchen. His sister Lorena was a huge influence in the kitchen and was always creating elaborate dishes. At age 21 he joined the U.S. Navy, where he cooked on submarines, traveled the world and ate amazing food. Upon his discharge, he attended culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu and later found work in restaurants and catering kitchens. 

He soon became the Executive Chef of a boutique catering company. From there, he went on to be hired as the CDC of catering for James Beard Award Recipients, Chefs Jon Shook & Vinny Dotolo. Working for them was not only an amazing learning experience, but a great accomplishment. In keeping with sharpening his skills he continues to work with 2 Star Michelin Chef Josiah Citrin of Melisse for catering events. 

Shruti Patel grew up in a very eclectic food environment.  Her strong Indian heritage, peppered with long love of Spanish cuisine has made her a phenom in the kitchen. Some of her fondest and earliest memories of working with food are of sitting on her grandmothers porch, in India, shucking peas that had been bought that morning, from the local fruit and vegetable vendor. 

After obtaining her bachleors degree at Cal State Fullerton, she realized her heart lay in cooking and began attending Le Cordon Bleu. While in culinary school, she began working for Wolfgang Puck Catering. 

She rose through the ranks to become the executive chef at Trés LA...training some of the brightest executive chefs we see today.

She elevated her technique working for acccomplished chefs such as Eric Greenspan, Jon Shook, Vinny Dotolo and Jason Fullilove.

As she flourished, she became a sought after personal chef for some of the entertainment industries biggest names. 

Having worked together for years, Chef's Jose and Shruti teamed up to compete on and win, Cooking Channel's Farmer's Market Flip.

After the success of the competition, they joined forces to create Eastside Eats LA; showcasing what they have coined "west side cooking with an east side flair".