restaurant birth_place birth_date image article_title education name style
chefjamessf.com -lrb- san francisco , ca -rrb- portland , oregon 16 february 1977 us james koskiniemi demonstrates his knife-handling skills aboard amphibious assault ship navy uss boxer -lrb- lhd 4 -rrb- . jpg 070714-n-9150r-055 culinary specialists watch as executive chef james koskiniemi
 california culinary academy , san francisco 2005 alumni james koskiniemi french californian
james koskiniemi

james koskiniemi -lrb- born february 16 , 1977 -rrb- is an american chef who is the recipient of the san francisco chefs association 2010 chef of the year .
james worked as the executive chef of the bellevue club in oakland , california and as of september 2014 he became chef and co-founder of the pig and the pickle - ale industries marketplace in concord california .
he was a writer for the culinarian magazine , and served two terms as president of the board of directors of the san francisco chefs association - chefs association of the pacific coast acf .
he appeared on the cover of the february 2008 issue of the culinarian magazine .
when chef james was six years old he won first place in a men 's cooking competition and a culinary award from alice waters .
at an early age he was introduced to traditional french cooking by his father ken who studied under master chef ken wolfe , and baking and pastry from his mother peggy .
chef james has an associate of occupational studies in le cordon bleu degree from the california culinary academy in san francisco , california , and was the only one to graduate with full honors at the top of his class out of almost 700 students .
in june 2007 chef james was invited by the adopt a ship program as a chef instructor on the navy 's to train culinary specialists in traditional techniques and help oversee the production of over 1200 meals per day .
he served as the youngest president and director of the san francisco chefs association .
on october 17 , 2010 chef james won first place for preparing crab and potato croquettes with a sweet kiwi foam at the 10th annual crabby chef competition held at spengers fish grotto in berkeley , california .
he repeated his victory a year later at the final crabby chef competition with crab and corn beignets with a ginger honey ver jus .
chef james made an appearance on an episode of the food network show restaurant impossible chef james works with several local charities such as special olympics , nfl alumni for kids , east bay agency for children , and raphael house .
he was auctioned off in 2012 for over $ 30,000 at the raphael house gala in may 2012 .
