San Diego's Consortium Holdings Hospitality Company Appoints New Director Of Culinary Operations

February 13, 2023

Almost a year after the loss of Corporate Chef & Partner Jason McLeod, San Diego's Consortium Holdings Hospitality Company (Born & Raised, Lafayette Hotel) has finally appointed a new Director of Culinary Operations.

Spanish born chef Perfecte Rocher has been appointed the culinary director of San Diego's Consortium Holdings, the hospitality company that operates over 20 bars & restaurants around America's Finest City. Rocher was more near Valencia, Spain, and has honed his craft at some of the top restaurants around the world, including Michelin-starred El Bulli in Spain and Gary Danko in San Francisco. Most recently, Rocher operated his own restaurant Tarsan i Jane in Seattle before selling the highly-regarded eatery in March 2021. 

"Chef Perfecte Rocher is our new Director of Culinary Operations at CH Projects, and he’s already making himself at home in our steakhouse," posted Consortium Holdings to the company's social media. "With years of culinary training (which may or may not have involved some pan throwing) at some of the world's most elite Michelin-starred restaurants, Chef Perfecte has already garnered praise from Jonathan Gold and GQ. As head of CH’s culinary endeavors, Perfecte hopes to create a nurturing (read: no pan throwing) environment for chefs to experiment, grow, and use contemporary techniques. Peruse the meat locker and peer on the line to see the what’s next."
Chef Rocher will curate a team consisting of a handful of chefs to develop and implement new ideas and techniques at Consortium's many restaurants, including the half dozen new concepts currently being installed at The Lafayette Hotel & Swim Club in North Park, which should reopen by this summer. Once The Lafayette is complete, CH will turn its attention on the opening of Leila, a new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant launching at 3956 30th Street in the heart of North Park. Chef Rocher's famed paella, which late LA Times food critic Jonathan Gold once said was the best version of the dish he's ever tasted, should be on the menu once Leila unveils later this year. 

Perfect Rocher is replacing longtime Consortium Holdings company chef and partner Jason McLeod, who left the company in early 2022 after more than a decade leading the hospitality collective. Longtime CH Director of Kitchen Development Kat Humphus also left the company last year, leaving another glaring void in the group's kitchen leadership team. Consortium Holdings founder Arsalun Tafazoli met Chef Rocher last September when he joined Chef Travis Swikard's Callie Restaurant in San Diego's East Village for a one night only special dinner. 

Consortium Holdings has over 20 bar & restaurants concepts around San Diego, including Neighborhood, Noble Experiment, Youngblood, Polite Provisions, Craft & Commerce, False Idol, three Underbelly locations, Dover Honing Co. modern barber shop (which remains closed since the beginning of the pandemic), Ironside Fish & Oyster, Born & Raised, Raised By Wolves, Morning Glory, Fortunate Son, J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse, Seneca Trattoria, The Reading Club private social lounge, Part Time Lover, European-style La Pensione Hotel, Coronado's La Avenida Inn, and The Lafayette Hotel. The company also owns the shopping plaza at 3401 Adams Avenue in Normal Heights, which sits across the street from Blind Lady AleHouse and approximately a half mile from CH's Polite Provisions. The space is currently being used as a workshop and storage area, and there is no word on additional plans for the complex. 

For more information about Consortium Holdings and its concepts, visit consortiumholdings.com.