PROVIDENCE
Los Angeles — Documentary, Food & Editorial Photography
There's a nice symmetry to where I got to shoot them. Cimarusti and Poto first decided to open Providence together after a chance meeting at the Santa Monica Farmers Market back in 2004—and the market is exactly where I started my day with the team, capturing the produce and ingredients being hand-selected and pulled back to the restaurant.
From there I spent the afternoon at Providence itself, shooting video of one of their signature dishes—salt-roasted Santa Barbara spot prawns served with caramelized lemon—and embedding in the kitchen to capture the staff in full motion. The precision and command with which Cimarusti runs that room is unparalleled. He's a force, and I was grateful to capture him and his team in their element.
Providence is one of the most decorated restaurants in the country—three Michelin stars, a Green Star, and two decades at the very top of American fine dining. It's led by Chef Michael Cimarusti, a James Beard Award winner and one of the most respected seafood chefs alive, alongside co-owner Donato Poto, arguably one of the finest maître d's in the business and, for the record, one of the funniest people you'll ever meet.
