Team

ZoZo

Chef

John Sedlar

Growing up in Santa Fe, New Mexico, John Rivera Sedlar had his first taste of Latin cooking in the kitchens of his mother, aunts, and beloved Grandma Eloisa. “My favorite time of year,” Sedlar remembers, “was before Christmas, when they would gather together in my aunts’ kitchen in Abiquiu, the village where Georgia O’Keeffe lived, to make huge mountains of bizcochitos, empanaditas, and tamales. If I close my eyes, I can still smell those fragrant aromas and taste those sweet, spicy, earthy foods.”

Sedlar’s knowledge of global Latin food traditions expanded during the three years his family spent living in Sevilla and Zaragoza, Spain, when he was 8, 9, and 10 years old.

Honest, down-to-earth experiences fueled Sedlar’s drive to become a chef. He worked his way through popular restaurants in Santa Fe before moving to Southern California, where he won a local following in the South Bay region in his early 20s. “But I knew there had to be more than cooking surf-and-turf specials, he says.

Partner

William Chait

William (Bill) Chait has been involved in the restaurant industry for more than 30 years during which time he has developed and operated over 20 highly successful restaurant concepts. In 2016, Chait joined the wildly popular Tartine Bakery as a managing partner and investor. Through 2015, Chait operated as the founder and Managing Partner of Sprout LA, he was responsible for the development and the opening of several of Los Angeles’ most exciting restaurants, such as Bestia, Petty Cash, Republique, Barrel and Ashes, Otium, Redbird, Sotto, Rivera and the Rose Café and Restaurant.

In 2010, he created the nationally acclaimed LA pop-up restaurant Test Kitchen, which pioneered an exciting new concept in dining featuring world renowned guest chefs and budding culinary talent. Tesse is his latest venture.

Chait and his restaurants have been featured in countless publications including, most recently, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Bon Appétit, Nation’s Restaurant News, Sunset Magazine, and Los Angeles Magazine. He is on the Advisory Board for OpenTable. Chait attended the University of California, Berkeley and is married and lives in Los Angeles.

Partner

Raphael Francois

Raphael Francois is a native of France and Belgium with over two decades of experience in hospitality. His career began in prestigious establishments across France, Belgium, Switzerland, and the UK, including Michelin-starred venues such as “Le Giverny” , “Le Sea Grill”, “Comme Chez Soi” ,”La Maison du Boeuf” at the Hilton hotel in Brussels, Hotel “Le Crillon” in Paris…

Raphael later assumed the role of Executive Sous Chef of two “Relais et Château” for the de Turckheim family hotels: “Le Chateau de Curzay” and “Le Chalet d’Adrien”, achieving notable recognition in the Gault et Millau.

In 2006, Raphael undertook the role of Executive Chef at “Helene Darroze” restaurant in Paris and overseeing multiple casual restaurants openings within the restaurant group. After relocating to London, he assumed the position of Executive Chef at “the Connaught” for the complete full opening of the hotel and overseeing all the outlets and the fine dining restaurant, which earned 2 Michelin Stars.

In 2015, Raphael moved to New York, taking the helm at the iconic “Le Cirque” restaurant.

He opened in Washington DC, “Le DeSales”, marking his debut as a Restaurant Owner. In 2016 Raphael met with Bill, their partnership will lead to the opening of “Tesse” and “Boutellier wines” in West Hollywood then in 2020 “Fanny’s” restaurant at the Academy Museum.

Partner

Jordan Ogron

With an esteemed career in hospitality, Jordan Ogron welcomes the opportunity to become a first time owner. Ogron began his career in the restaurant industry serving as the Wine Director for Rivera Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles. He was responsible for co-writing (with M.S. Steven Geddes), overseeing and developing the wine list, which was awarded with a “Two Wine Glass” Wine Spectator Award in 2012. After demonstrating his expertise in this area, Ogron was quickly promoted to Assistant General Manager.

In 2009, Ogron was given the opportunity as a consultant to work as both Wine & Beverage Director and Director of Operations for Fraîche Restaurant in Santa Monica. Brought on to reinvent the restaurant’s rustic French and Italian market-fresh approach, Ogron delivered quality-focused results. Ogron created a Pre-prohibition, seasonal cocktail program and wrote a new wine list consisting of over 300 labels.

After his tenure at Fraiche Restaurant, Ogron spent three years at Fig & Olive in both New York and Los Angeles, working his way up from Floor Manager to Service Director for Fig & Olive Inc. Ogron also lent his expertise to the beverage program and was involved in all upper management beverage-focused decisions, acting as the Corporate Wine Director for the east and west coasts.

In late 2012, Jordan served as General Manager for Bestia DTLA. He moved on from Bestia to become the Director of Food & Beverage at The Standard in Hollywood. His final tenure was with Hakkasan Group, where he was hired to resurrect a failing restaurant (Hakkasan Beverly Hills) and open a new restaurant (Herringbone Santa Monica) almost simultaneously for the company. Ogron left Hakkasan Group in September of 2016 to pursue his dream of becoming an Owner. That dream becomes a reality with Tesse Restaurant and Boutellier Wines.