About

With nearly two decades of experience, Culinary Director and Executive Chef Mark Welker draws upon his passion and appreciation for food to deliver elevated, multisensory dining experiences at Paradisaea and Dodo Bird Donuts. Chef Welker’s responsibilities include overseeing day-to-day operations for Paradisaea and Dodo Bird Donuts, including development of Paradisaea’s approachable, yet elevated seasonal menus, as well as catering initiatives and special events.

Welker’s rise through the culinary ranks started from humble beginnings out of Louisville, Kentucky where he graduated culinary school. Since then, his esteemed background has taken him all over the world — from studying baking and pastry at Maison Carratié in Béziers, France, to working in legendary restaurants such as An American Place St. Louis and New York City’s renowned culinary concepts, Eleven Madison Park and NoMad, where he played a key role in the brand’s expansion to multiple cities throughout the US and UK. Over the course of his tenure, Eleven Madison Park received Three Michelin Stars, a four star review from The New York Times, seven James Beard Foundation Awards, and the No. 1 spot in The World’s 50 Best Restaurants by S.Pellegrino and Acqua Panna. Before joining the opening team culinary powerhouse concepts Paradisaea and Dodo Bird Donuts as Culinary Director and Executive Chef in the coastal neighborhood of Bird Rock in La Jolla, Welker also served as Executive Pastry Chef for acclaimed restaurant group Make It Nice.

Drawing on his passion for food, Chef Welker traded the hustle and bustle of New York City for the chill, coastal neighborhood of Bird Rock (with a few surf lessons here and there) to bring an elevated dining experience to San Diego’s culinary scene. Chef Welker’s philosophy for cooking highlights locally-sourced ingredients, seasonal flavors, and holds the belief that excellence and technique have a place not only in fine-dining but in casual and accessible fare as well. By showcasing ingredient-driven contemporary Californian cuisine grounded in classical techniques, Paradisaea exemplifies this philosophy and continues to challenge and elevate the platform for the San Diego F&B scene.

See me at:

4 Course Wine Dinner with Paradisaea and Skipstone Wines