Fifty years in professional kitchens. Every one of them mattered.

 

Lisa Stalvey is the chef behind The Malibu Chef — and she's been cooking professionally longer than most people have been paying attention to food. Trained under Wolfgang Puck at Ma Maison and later head chef at Spago Sunset, she built her reputation in the most demanding kitchens in Los Angeles before bringing that same standard to private clients along the Malibu coast.

 

From 1992 to 1999 she was chef and partner at Bambu in Malibu — one of the most talked-about restaurants in the city during its run. She's been named a Top 100 Chef in America three consecutive times. She co-developed recipes with Paul Newman for Newman's Own. She founded Butter Barn, an organic compound butter brand carried by Erewhon. She's written six books.

 

Since 2000, The Malibu Chef has been her private catering practice — intimate dinners, events, and ongoing private chef work for clients who care deeply about what goes on their table. Organic whenever possible. Always gluten-free capable. Tuned to special dietary needs without making food feel like a compromise.

What clients come back for isn't just the food — it's the feeling after. People have said for years that they feel better after eating her cooking. She takes that seriously. The energy in the kitchen matters. The sourcing matters.

 

The intention behind every dish matters.

 

If you're looking for a chef who brings five decades of real kitchen experience to your table — not a catering package, not a prefab menu — you've found her.

 

Training

Wolfgang Puck · Ma Maison

 

Recognition

Top 100 Chef in America · 3× consecutive

 

Catering since 2000 · Malibu & beyond

 

Specialties

Organic · Gluten-free · Allergies