Michael Dunn

Chef/Partner
Yankee Pier Lafayette

Growing up in the East Bay with strong local ties to the community and Bay Area, Michael Dunn feels very much at home as the Chef/Partner at Yankee Pier Lafayette. Although he didn’t know he always wanted to be a chef, Dunn has been passionate about fish, sustainability and the environment since he was young. Tending to his salt water fish aquarium for years and graduating with a zoology degree at U.C. Davis, Dunn is an Aquarium Hobbyist and his respect for animals and fair treatment is apparent as he brings this attitude into the kitchen every day.

“A few years into working with the Lark Creek Restaurant Group, we started thinking about partnering with a sustainable seafood program and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program was a perfect fit,” says Dunn. “What I admire most about each restaurant in the Group is that no matter what, we don’t lower our standards when it comes to food quality; we use the best to create the best.”

Throughout college, Dunn began to work his way through restaurant kitchens in the area and discovered his love of cooking. Bringing together his passion for animals and food, he decided to pursue a career in the culinary industry rather than zoology. In 1995, he spotted an ad for a cook position at Lark Creek Walnut Creek and jumped at the opportunity. He next joined Yankee Pier as opening chef at Santana Row in 2002 and then opened the restaurant in Lafayette in 2008.

“My ‘cooking school’ was through the restaurants. It was a solid educational experience about product, preparation, seasonal foods and passion,” he explains “For more than 15 years, I have invested in being part of an evolving culinary scene, starting by working side by side with Chef Bradley Ogden at Lark Creek Walnut Creek. Regardless of what I am cooking – whether at the restaurant or at home – I am inspired by the abundance of local, seasonal, fresh ingredients available in the Bay Area.” Dunn works closely with the farmers at Happy Boy Farms and Frog Hollow Farms to get produce for Yankee Pier Lafayette.