Growing up in Santa Cruz, California—a city defined by its serene beaches, lush redwoods, and close proximity to one of the richest agricultural areas in the country — Chef Reilly Meehan always knew he had a place in the world of food. At an early age, he became enamored with cooking and found himself working summers in the kitchen of his father’s brewery, where long days and busy dinners became the norm. When he wasn’t picking up shifts at the pub, he was down the street picking blackberries in neighbors’ yards, or learning to make mole and fresh tortillas from his beloved family friends next door. 

In 2008, Reilly deferred his admission to a four-year university and instead competed in a scholarship competition, finishing second place and earning a large scholarship to attend The Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell, California. It was there that he met his mentor and good friend who opened his eyes to the world of culinary competition. Under his mentor’s guidance, Reilly became the first-ever American — and youngest person ever — to win the Chaine Des Rotisseurs Young Chefs Competition in Istanbul, Turkey in 2011, and continued to train for the 2012 Culinary Olympics with Team USA. 

After achieving a gold medal in the hot food category and a silver in the cold food category at the 2012 IKA Culinary Olympics, Reilly moved to San Francisco, where he quickly worked his way up the ranks at the Ritz Carlton’s fine dining restaurant, Parallel 37. On his days off, Reilly would practice for any competition he could find, and was able to place second in the 2014 Hans Bueschkens Young Chefs Challenge in Stavanger, Norway.

Upon returning from Norway, Reilly left the Ritz Carlton to open up what became a successful bespoke doughnut pop-up in San Francisco. Eventually, Reilly realized he missed the rush of a large kitchen and joined the culinary team at The Bohemian Club, working closely with Certified Master Chef Robert Mancuso as a sous chef for nearly a year before being appointed to the role of Executive Sous Chef which he held for nearly 6 years.

Reilly left The Bohemian Club for his current position–a private chef for a family that splits time between Southampton, New York and Paradise Valley, Arizona. The transition has allowed Reilly to pursue social media as an outlet for his creative recipes and since he started posting consistently a bit over two years ago he has amassed a total of over 500,000 followers–a number that continues to grow rapidly week by week.

Reilly has traveled across the globe and trained with many skilled chefs from all different cultural backgrounds rendering his food bright and playful, fine tuned but approachable to people who enjoy cooking as a hobby as well. His style is rooted in a sound foundational cooking that doesn’t take itself too seriously, drawing people in with the authenticity in which he cooks and presents his recipes.

A LITTLE BIT EXTRA: A COOKBOOK
Out March 24, 2006 from Union Square