Pete Balistreri, a first generation Sicilian-American and San Diego native, was born and raised in the close-knit community of Point Loma, where he played varsity baseball and football for Point Loma High
School and earned himself a full football scholarship to San Diego State University. After graduating from SDSU with a degree in graphic design, Balistreri headed to the renowned California Culinary Academy in San Francisco to follow his passion for food.

Balistreri earned a Bachelors Degree in Culinary Arts, and soon went on to apprentice in some of the city’s top kitchens, including the 1997 James Beard Best New Restaurant in America, Rose Pistola, where he eventually became a Sous Chef. He then worked as a line cook at Masa’s, where he refined his culinary technique under the renowned Ron Siegel, a 1999 Food & Wine “Best New Chef” and the first U.S. citizen to win on the popular Japanese cooking show “Iron Chef.”

Following his stint at Masa’s, Balistreri went on to work at the Union Squares Pan Pacific Hotel, where he met his mentor-to-be, Chef Erik Oberholtzer. Oberholtzer was soon recruited as Executive Chef for Santa Monica’s premier beachfront hotel, Shutters on the Beach, and subsequently enlisted Balistreri to work as Lead Chef for the hotel’s restaurant, One Pico.

Wanting to get back to his San Diego roots, Balistreri left One Pico to work at The Lodge at Torrey Pines, the luxurious Five Diamond resort in La Jolla, Calif. There he became the Banquet Chef, learning the “market driven philosophy” from Executive Chef Jeff Jackson. Following three years at The Lodge, Balistreri reunited with Oberholtzer and his partners, David Dressler and Matt Lyman, to work on developing Tender Greens. Balistreri had signed on as an investor in Tender Greens before they opened in the first location in Culver City in 2006. The young 29-year-old chef has since been working on developing Tender Greens in San Diego, which opened June 2008, and helms the new location as Executive Chef.