Timothy Hollingsworth

Team USA 2009
Participating Events
6:30 PM - 10:00 PM Saturday, May 5

Hollingsworth recently opened his first solo project, Otium. Located in the historic Bunker Hill neighborhood of Downtown Los Angeles, Otium is a restaurant that strips away the formalities of fine dining while focusing on quality and execution. It is designed to be a social restaurant with a dramatic open kitchen merging indoor and outdoor spaces. The restaurant’s name, Otium, has its roots in Latin. A word that is meant to emphasize a place where time can be spent on leisurely social activities, both eating and drinking; adjacent to one of Los Angeles’ most important cultural streets — Grand Avenue — and next to its newest, most vibrant addition, the Contemporary Art Museum, The Broad.

Shortly after leaving his post at The French Laundry in 2013, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth moved to Los Angeles and opened Barrel & Ashes in 2014, an updated take on traditional American BBQ that pays homage to the food that Hollingsworth grew up on. As Chef Owner of Barrel & Ashes, Hollingsworth works alongside Chef Rory Herrmann to bring chef-driven Southern food to Studio City.

Prior to his time in LA, Hollingsworth worked as chef de cuisine of The French Laundry in Napa Valley, where led the kitchen in the continued evolution of its world-renowned cuisine. Hollingsworth exemplifies Chef Thomas Keller’s commitment to mentorship and personal development, with nearly 12 years of tenure at the restaurant. Beginning as a commis in 2001, Hollingsworth learned from former chefs de cuisine Eric Ziebold and Corey Lee, internalizing the heritage of the restaurant’s cuisine. In 2004, Keller selected Hollingsworth as part of a core team that traveled to New York City to train and prepare for the opening of his fine dining establishment in Manhattan, Per Se.

During his time off from The French Laundry, Hollingsworth would travel around Europe and staged under acclaimed European Chefs including Alain Ducasse and Gordon Ramsay. In 2008, Hollingsworth competed in the Bocuse d’Or USA, where he was awarded the opportunity to represent the United States at the Bocuse d’Or World Cuisine Contest— the biennial global cooking competition first envisioned in 1987 by revered French chef Paul Bocuse. Hollingsworth subsequently completed a rigorous training process, during which he worked with some of the industry’s most influential figures. In early 2009, Hollingsworth traveled to Lyon, France to compete in the prestigious event, where he placed sixth out of 24 prominent chef teams from around the world.

In his current role, he looks forward to being a mentor to the next generation of aspiring cooks. Hollingsworth recently received the Rising Star Chef Award from The San Francisco Chronicle as well as the Rising Star Chef of the Year Award presented by the James Beard Foundation.