Nestor Marin
Executive Chef, Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette
Marina, California -
With nearly two decades of culinary and hospitality expertise under his belt, Executive Sous Chef Nestor Marin mixes traditional cooking practices with new-age technologies at Monterey Bay’s ocean-to-table, Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette at the laid-back luxury hotel destination, The Sanctuary Beach Resort.
Chef Marin has had a fascination with culinary arts and a love for eating delicious food for as long as he can remember. Following a brief stint studying Computer Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, he was compelled to pursue his dreams and embark upon a career in the hospitality industry. After a few years working in the field, Marin decided to refine his skills and attend culinary school at The Art Institute of California, San Francisco where he earned his Certificate of Culinary Arts Diploma. Throughout the years, Nestor has explored a number of different cuisines and techniques including French, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Latin American, establishing himself as a rising star chef to watch in Northern California.
Ahead of accepting his current role as the Executive Sous Chef at Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette, Marin served as a Chef de tournant and Kitchen Manager at The Sierra Mar Restaurant at the five-star Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur, California. During his six years at Post Ranch Inn, he lived on-site and worked under Chefs Elizabeth Murray, Jonny Black, Colin Shane, Reylon Agustin, and Hoon Kang, where he further honed his skills and learned to connect food to the overall ethos of a hotel, utilizing farm-fresh and local ingredients to tell the story of the destination through food.
In search of a reason to move back to be closer to his family, in December 2022, Chef Marin stumbled upon the role at The Sanctuary Beach Resort, where he immediately saw the potential of Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette. Nestor is at the helm of the ocean-to-table and wood-fired restaurant where he is responsible for overseeing the staff, menu development, and the overall ‘theatrics’ of the interactive and informative dining experience.
At Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette, they prioritize sustainability using organic and ethically sourced ingredients, in part to support the oceanic ecosystem. Nestor often finds himself pulling natural inspiration right from the source itself and enjoys experimenting with unique techniques including foraging, pickling with ocean water, and dry aging. Chef Marin and his team attend the farmers markets on a weekly basis and partner with local purveyors including Otto’s Bread Company, California Caviar Company, Rocky Oaks Goat Creamery, Bakers Bacon, and Boba Farms to gather and serve the freshest local goods. Salt Wood Kitchen & Oysterette also work with the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust to help make connections with local fishermen including Monterey Abalone Company, Ocean2Table, Real Good Fish, and Sea Harvest – all of whom have hubs right around the corner from the resort in Moss Landing. Standout dishes utilizing all of these ingredients combined with many different cultures in technique include theSeafood Pozole, where the broth is made utilizing a nose-to-tail method and doing a smoked fumet, or the Beef Fat Market Potatoes & Wild Mushrooms, where the tallow from their locally sourced bone broth is used to cook the potatoes and is topped with a Rocky Oaks goat cheese fondue.
In his spare time, Nestor is primarily focused on helping raise his son, Mateo. When he does venture out, he enjoys grabbing a bite locally and exploring the beautiful Monterey Peninsula through various activities including foraging, hiking, camping, rock climbing, kayaking, free diving, and SCUBA.
