Chef · Teacher · Flower farmer

David Jamrock

He has cooked for presidents and Hollywood. Now he teaches Hollister to cook, and he wants you to know the why behind every step.

Cook with him His story
  • 13Age he started cooking school
  • 2Presidents he's cooked for
  • 25Kinds of edible flowers he grew
  • 2024Jamrock opens in Hollister
Chef David Jamrock in his chef whites behind platters of fruit, vegetables and flowers

About Chef David

“I'm not showing off for me. I'm going to show off so that you can.”

Chef David JamrockJamrock Culinary Arts Center · Hollister

Where he's cooked

A passport full of kitchens.

Cooking school at 13, an apprenticeship at 14, the Culinary Olympics at 16. Then kitchens coast to coast, and home to Hollister.

  1. Age 14ConnecticutApprentice
  2. Age 16FrankfurtJunior Culinary Olympics
  3. Age 20Jackson HoleFirst big win
  4. Jacqueline'sWashington, D.C.First non-French chef
  5. BanquetsPalm SpringsFord & Reagan
  6. Alpine MeadowsLake TahoeMountain kitchens
  7. The ranchHollisterEdible flowers
  8. 2025New YorkEat This TV pilot
  9. Since 2024JamrockFiesta Plaza · Hollister

Kitchen stories

Ask him about these.

Three from the Palm Springs years. Open a matchbook, then ask Chef David for the full version in class.

  1. The short version

    Out behind the kitchen, Chef David shared a smoke with Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr.

    via BenitoLink
  2. The short version

    Sonny Bono once hired Chef David's favorite pizza chef right out from under him.

    via BenitoLink
  3. The short version

    A post-dinner hot tub with Sylvester Stallone. Yes, really.

    via BenitoLink

The flower farmer

Why there's a marigold on your plate.

Long before edible flowers were a trend, Chef David was growing them. Wild elderberries and peppercorns on his ranch turned into a request for marigolds, and as he put it, it steamrolled from there: some 25 varieties, sold to top Bay Area chefs like Alice Waters and Chris Cosentino, and at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Today those flowers finish the plates in class and on Friday nights. Ask him which ones you can grow at home.

Jamrock RanchHollister, CA

Edible flowers

Bundles of fresh herbs and edible flowers from the ranch
Some 25 varietiesGrown for Bay Area chefs
Crêpes finished with an edible marigold

In the news

Read all about it.

Local reporters keep coming back to Fiesta Plaza. Here's what they've written.

Edible Monterey BayWinter 2025Generational Talents: a seasoned chef finds focus coaching youngsters in HollisterRead the story BenitoLinkMay 2025Jamrock Culinary Arts Center nears first anniversaryRead the story BenitoLinkDecember 2024Chef Jamrock, gingerbread houses and a perfect paellaRead the story BenitoLinkJune 2024Celebrity chef holds cooking classes in HollisterRead the story Eat This TV2025 pilotJamrock Culinary Arts: Garde MangerWatch the episode

Pull up a stool.

Cook next to him on a Wednesday or Thursday, or let him cook for you on a Friday.

See the schedule Watch him on Eat This TV
  • Guests around a long table at a Jamrock dinner night
    Your seat's ready
  • Chef David behind rows of plated desserts
    Dessert night
  • Crêpes finished with an edible marigold
    A marigold on top

  • See you in the kitchen,

    David Jamrock