Our Chef
ELLA DINING ROOM AND BAR WELCOMES THEIR NEW EXECUTIVE CHEF FROM SAN FRANCISCO’S WAYFARE TAVERN
February, 2012. Sacramento, CA – Native son, Chef Michael Thiemann, comes home to Sacramento as the new executive chef of Ella Dining Room & Bar after a culinary journey that landed him as executive chef of Wayfare Tavern and Hawks Tavern, both located in the Bay Area and owned by famed chef and Food Network star, Tyler Florence.
During Chef Thiemann’s tenure at Wayfare Tavern, it was named “Best New Restaurant” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian and “Best Standby Kitchen” by Eater SF, and is also one of Open Table’s Top Five Most Booked Restaurants in the Bay Area.
Thiemann honed his kitchen skills over a decade, starting in 1995 at Midtown Sacramento’s beloved Greta’s Café. He then worked at some of the area’s top sushi restaurants in order to expand his culinary repertoire, meanwhile remaining a noted member of the city’s music scene until 2003, when he was named sous chef at the forward-thinking modern restaurant and lounge Mason’s under his mentor, Executive Chef Phillip Wang.
In 2007, Thiemann left Sacramento for New Zealand, where he was opening executive chef of the boutique restaurant Hapuku Lodge in the New Zealand wine country. He also spent time in the northern New Zealand city of Wellington, and then traveled to Hawaii as executive chef at Merriman’s on the Big Island, after which he landed the prestigious assignment with Tyler Florence at Wayfare and Hawks, as executive chef for both.
Says Thiemann,“I’ve always admired the Selland Family [who own Ella Dining Room & Bar, Selland’s, and The Kitchen] for setting the bar so high in the region, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity come back to Sacramento and take the reigns at Ella. It’s all very exciting for me because we share a love of food, family and the region. It’s a perfect fit.”
“We’ve known Mike for a long time and have followed his career,” said Randall Selland, chef owner of Ella Dining Room and Bar. “We were surprised and delighted we could convince him to come back to Sacramento.”
