Alisa Vannah
Mr. T | Los Angeles
April 2024
Alisa Vannah spent a lot of time with her mother growing up. Luckily, her mom was a very good cook, and the two of them would talk about their day while watching The Food Network. Vannah was mesmerized by images of chefs cooking food and plating dishes. Years later, she landed a job at Osteria Mozza on the pastry team with Chef Dahlia Narvaez and then went on to open Chi Spacca under Chef Chad Colby, where she switched to savory and learned to butcher meat. A year later, Vannah left to work for Rising Stars alum Walter Manzke at République, where she started as a line cook and was motivated by the passion, intensity, and support she found at the restaurant. She spent four years at République, rising through the ranks, going from line cook to sous to executive sous, fostering her creativity and leadership skills along the way.
Vannah went to work on the opening team at Tsubaki for a little over a year and a half before returning to République. After over seven cumulative years at the restaurant, Vannah felt it was time for something new. With some help from Manzke, she connected with the opening team at Mr. T and joined as executive chef. Since then, she has built a menu that reflects her Los Angeles upbringing, her Thai background, and her culinary influences while staying true to the French-and-street-food-inspired restaurant through dishes like her vadouvan curry branzino with miso-yuzu sabayon, crispy shallot, almond, and lemon marmalade.
