Fred Piehl is one of San Diego’s pioneering chefs whose neighborhood restaurants set the bar for community, service, quality and sustainability.

Though he was born in the U.S., Fred’s family spent time in Switzerland when he was a child. As he grew up, he moved fluidly between the East and West Coasts and Europe, learning to understand both familiar and unfamiliar food customs and traditions.

After receiving his business degree, Fred decided to seriously pursue cooking. He moved to Paris to attend Le Cordon Bleu, where he studied both cuisine and patisserie and received his Grand Diplôme. After culinary school, Fred landed in San Diego, a city that offered a small respite from bustling metropolitan living and plenty of access to the outdoors. Plus, the local food bounty is incomparable to other regions.

His career in San Diego started in the kitchens of prestigious restaurants, including The Lodge at Torrey Pines and Nine-Ten. But Fred knew he wanted to strike out on his own, and in 2010 he found an 850 square-foot space in the North Park neighborhood, which was not yet the culinary destination it is today. Over the past decade he has devoted himself to The Smoking Goat, creating a neighborhood bistro where he wants to work in the kitchen day in and out. In 2016, when the space next to the Goat became available, Fred doubled down and opened One Door North, a restaurant and bar that’s an ode to the outdoors.

Fascinated by value and quality of ingredients, farmer and rancher ethos and wine production, Piehl constantly reads and researches techniques, vendors and chefs to bring fresh insight to both restaurants.