About
Since his early days in the kitchen, Chef Sam Marvin has brought a unique blend of culinary classicism and a creative, innovative edge to his singular style of cooking. A California boy with serious French training, Chef Sam is committed to bringing originality and quality to customers every time they visit his restaurants. He earned his stripes in the late ‘80s in seminal restaurants like Flaming Colossus and Patina, cooking delicious yet avant-garde cuisine that shook the foundation of the L.A. cooking scene. After this training, he went on to open his own restaurant in the mid-90s, Modada, a jewel box that received critical success and further cemented Sam as a culinary force. Along with his restaurants in the States, Chef Sam has also worked with Marc Meneau at L’Espérance à SaintPère-sous-Vézelay, Georges Blanc at his three-star La Mere Blanc and many other prestigious restaurants around the world, from Switzerland to Italy to Morocco to Holland.
In 2009, Chef Sam opened Bottega Louie in Downtown Los Angeles and once again shape shifted the landscape of L.A. dining. An instant success from the moment it opened its doors, Bottega Louie exploded onto the downtown dining scene with its vibrancy and has been a runaway success ever since. Chef Sam’s culinary enterprise and his knack for revitalizing sleepy neighborhoods came into play yet again when, in 2013, Chef Sam brought his culinary magic to his epic, 10,000 square foot Echo & Rig Butcher and Steakhouse at Tivoli Village in Summerlin, Las Vegas. Daring to move a destination restaurant off the Las Vegas strip, Chef Sam’s knack for timing and trend was right on the money – Echo & Rig has been both a critical and popular success. He opened a second location of Echo & Rig in Sacramento in 2018, yet again firmly planting himself in a city at the frontlines of major culinary shift with the recent expansion of the Michelin Guide in CA starting in Sacramento.
His latest venture, Pluck, brings pasture-raised chicken to the The Shoppes at Carlsbad. The fast-casual concept with a smaller menu focuses on quality fried chicken and satisfying sides for an accessible price point. Marvin wants to make it easy for customers to enjoy ethically sourced, delicious food, and plans to expand the concept quickly.
When Chef Sam is not busy creating in the kitchen, he enjoys spending time with his family, often splitting his days between his home base of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. With several national broadcast appearances under his belt, including Hallmark Channel’s Home and Family and FYI’s Late Night Chef Fight, Chef Sam has participated in (and won) a number of cooking competitions, including Food Network’s Beat Bobby Flay in 2015.
