Estancia executive chef brings a global, seasonal focus to new menus

Last Updated on May 1, 2025

With a fusion of international travel, local experience and Midwestern roots, Katie Weber is leading the resort with a garden-to-table emphasis.

Reaping what she’s sown after decades in the culinary industry, Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa’s Executive Chef Katie Weber is plating up a set of garden-forward, internationally-inspired menus that stay true to her enthusiasm for seasonal cooking.

Weber took the reins in September, a few months after Estancia revealed its major redevelopment and renovation for its 20th year.

“I just feel like I belong here,” Weber said, adding the leadership team and “amazing property” have contributed to her comfort.

It’s the inviting, welcoming atmosphere that’s enabled Weber to put a fresh, global spin on Estancia’s culinary program, one that harnesses her vast experience steeped in Midwestern philosophy.

Weber is from Iowa, where “gnarly” winters meant seasonal foods were the way forward and she grew up around farmers and cooking with family members, all of which instilled a passion for seasonal recipes, she said.

Among various jobs from Iowa to the West Coast, Weber worked for The Lodge at Torrey Pines, where she started in 2007 as a pastry chef under then-Executive Chef Jeff Jackson and worked her way up to Executive Sous Chef under current Executive Chef Kelli Crosson.

Weber also counts Tim Kolanko as her mentor and favorite chef.

Weber is now training her eye on refining Estancia’s culinary identity, extending the already-Latin global vibe of property favorite Mustangs & Burros across the resort and expanding it to include inspiration from South America, Spain, and Portugal, among other regions, including those in South America that carry influence from places like Japan and Italy.

“There’s a lot of opportunity for a little bit of creativity [and] fusion,” Weber said, although the menus will be less fusion and more seasonal with a nod to the cultures that inspired them.

This is revealed with the all-new breakfast, brunch and lunch menus at Greenfinch Restaurant, where Weber has debuted dishes like Dungeness crab strata, sticky mango French toast, smoked tofu BLT and smoked yellowfin tuna crudo tostada.

Weber is looking forward to more “fun, new flavors” in the upcoming late spring and summer seasons, as several special Estancia events will further highlight her approach to food.

An upcoming garden revamp will also provide her a chance to curate special dinners based on garden harvests, all the while showcasing “things that represent me and my cooking style,” Weber said.

With any of her work, Weber strives to “stay true to who I am … in the kitchen. … I’m just myself. I don’t know any other way to be.”