Acclaimed Chef Ben Ford continues to dazzle the culinary world and all who drink and feast at his new American gastropub, Ford’s Filling Station, (opening summer 2005.) Ford’s confident yet comfortable concept promises to elevate downtown Culver City as an epicurean destination and will undoubtedly shake up many people’s views of what casual pub dining should be like. Utilizing the finest local ingredients to continually evolve his signature organic cuisine, Chef Ford translates his knowledge and passion for fresh comfort food in this trend-setting neighborhood gathering spot. Already being regarded as the home of the gastropub revolution in the United States, Ben is energized to bring his intriguing foresight to diners. “I want Ford’s Filling Station to be like nothing else in the area, from food, ambiance, and vision,” says Ben. Ford’s culinary and business savvy has led to plans to open a sister restaurant in Las Vegas. The personable young chef, who firmly solidified his stature among the harbingers of California cuisine when he opened Chadwick in 1999, says F.F.S. reflects his lust for life and growth as a cook. Realizing that his culinary style had matured, Ford has set out to prove that the finest food doesn’t have to be overly complicated. The menu at F.F.S. offers soulful meals centered around common ingredients with booming flavors.
At the renowned Chadwick, Ford married his rich professional experience with a lifetime of personal commitment to organics and artisanal sensibilities in the kitchen. Ford drew inspiration from his mother, Mary Ford, a fine cook and illustrator and from his father, actor Harrison Ford, a skilled craftsman and artist of great integrity. Alan Chadwick, the man credited with bringing organic gardening to the United States, so influenced Ford that he

named his restaurant and catering business, Chadwick, as homage. Ben personifies a profound admiration for the hand-crafted artistry that goes into producing naturally farmed foods with individual character and relevance.
Ford’s reputation is well known, he’s an articulate chef with culinary principles, a man obsessed with getting it right. His skill and zeal met with brilliant results; as chef/owner of Chadwick, Ford earned rave reviews and national acclaim for his seasonal California-Mediterranean menu. Ben remembers, “A restaurant with such an impact hadn’t opened in Los Angeles in years.” Chadwick received Three Stars from S. Irene Virbila of the Los Angeles Times in 2000, which at the time was unprecedented.
Ford’s epicurean journey began in 1987 almost upon accident; when while recovering from a baseball injury, the young college student took a culinary sabbatical from U.S.C to study in France at the University of Dijon; the Slow Food movement of Europe enthused his desire to protect the pleasures of the table. After studying abroad, he moved to San Francisco to pursue his culinary aspirations. He graduated from the California Culinary Academy, one of America’s longest running culinary school programs. After completing his formal training, Ford remained in Northern California sharpening his natural talents in the kitchen of one of the country’s finest organic chefs, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse.
After this impressive start, Ford returned to his native Los Angeles to get a taste of traditional French cooking technique as sous chef of Eberhard Mueller’s Opus in Santa Monica. When venerable Los Angeles restaurant Campanille came calling, Ford couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work under the guidance of Mark Peel and Nancy Silverton

and to be part of a kitchen that spawned the industry’s next generation of California chefs. It was at Campanille that Ford befriended Govind Armstrong, soon to be co-chef at Chadwick.
Next came a tenure under Chef Serge Falesitch at Eclipse, followed by being named executive chef at The Farm of Beverly Hills; where Ford perfected his flavorful earthy cuisine and honed the important tasks of running a restaurant. Just down the street from The Farm, Ford struck out on his own and opened the beloved Chadwick in 1999. Soon after, Chadwick was hailed as “Restaurant of the Year” by the City of Beverly Hills.
For years, Ben Ford has garnered wide attention by getting substantial press on both regional and national levels. Food writers and reviewers justifiably rave about his culinary artistry and integrity. Ford has been featured in publications including Gourmet, Food and Wine, Bon Appétit, Time magazine, Fortune, Elle, Conde Nast Traveler, Cooking Light, Los Angeles magazine, New York Times, Angeleno, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and InStyle.
Chef Ford has also appeared on Entertainment Tonight, Extra, E!, PBS, KABC, KNBC, KCAL, KTTV, and Fox News. Ford has been invited to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York and honored at the Masters of Food and Wine in the beach town of Carmel, California.
Ford was named spokesperson for Earthbound Farms in 2000 and additionally resides as a C.A.P Chef on the cheese advisory panel for
the Nation’s dairy board. He’s esteemed as a premier supporter of Chefs Collaborative, a national network of more than 1,000 members of the food community who promote the importance of local, seasonal, and artisanal cooking.

He continually donates his time to charitable food events, such as teaching classes at Garden Magic Kids, a non-profit group dedicated to planting organic gardens in urban public schools. Ben Ford also has the respected honor of being a Chef Chair for Taste of the Nation, an event benefiting the Share Our Strength organization in Los Angeles.
In his spare time, Ben hangs-out with his family, wife Elizabeth and son Ethan, at their home in Los Angeles. The chef is currently writing his debut cookbook that celebrates the restaurant, the food philosophy, and the city. With an emphasis on fresh, seasonal ingredients and a strong value in cooking skills, Ben Ford shares not only his famous recipes, but also profiles his formula for eating well.