Miles Thompson

As executive chef of Michael’s Santa Monica, Miles Thompson ushers in a new era for proprietor Michael McCarthy’s seminal restaurant, at the forefront of California cuisine for 39 years.

The 30-year-old New York native found his home in the kitchen at a young age, cooking alongside his parents in Westchester County. At just 13, he took on his first professional cooking gig at Charlotte Berwind Catering in Carmel, NY before working in his first restaurant position under chef Greg Gilbert at the Inn at Emily Shaw’s in New York (now known as The Inn at Pound Ridge by Jean Georges).

While the seeds for his eventual career were planted, Miles moved to Los Angeles in 2007 to pursue a different passion: acting. To support himself, he took a job working the line at NOBU Los Angeles. Under chef Alex Becker’s mentorship and watchful eye, Thompson finessed his technical capabilities, strengthened his culinary foundation, and determined that he belonged in the kitchen and not the screen.

Thompson left NOBU in 2010 to further his culinary education alongside chefs Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook at Animal. He subsequently joined the opening team for their sister restaurant and seafood-focused counterpart, Son of a Gun, where he would rise from sous chef to executive sous chef.

In 2012, Miles debuted a roving private dinner club and underground pop-up restaurant called The Vagrancy Project along with partner Aubrey Hustead. The duo orchestrated intimate events and introduced the “Vagrant” dinner series at Echo Park restaurant Allston Yacht Club two nights a week. Vagrant’s success inspired co-owners Charles Kelly and Bill DiDonna to team up with Miles to reimagine Allston Yacht Club as Allumette. In 2013, the restaurant opened to critical acclaim, earning spots on Bon Appetit’s Best New Restaurants list, Jonathan Gold’s 101, Los Angeles Magazine’s top 75 restaurants, and LA Weekly’s 99 Essential Restaurants. Miles was also awarded StarChefs 2014 Rising Star Sustainability Award and named one of Zagat’s 30 Under 30. Despite its numerous fans, Allumette’s location posed a challenge and the partners made the difficult decision to close.

In 2014, Miles moved to Sonoma County where he become the culinary director at SHED, a community gathering space informed by the rhythm of the proprietors’ farm. While there, Miles honed his skills in bread-making, charcuterie, fermentation, and the artistry of the slow food movement before making his return to Los Angeles to join the Michael’s Santa Monica team in 2016

Since the Michael’s reopening in September 2016, Thompson has applied the creativity and finesse that has informed his culinary style throughout his career to the local ingredients that have always been at the heart of the historic restaurant’s menu. With Thompson at the helm of the iconic kitchen, the restaurant has received renewed critical attention from the Los Angeles Times and LA Weekly. In 2017, Thompson was named a James Beard Rising Star Chef semifinalist, LA Weekly’s “Best Up-and Coming Chef” and “Rising Star of the Year” in Esquire’s “Best New Restaurants” issue. In 2018, Thompson was a James Beard Rising Star Chef finalist.