The trailblazing chef passed away on Monday after a four-year battle with cancer<\/p>\n
Chef Joshua Gil, a pioneer of Los Angeles\u2019 Alta California dining movement, died Monday after a four-year battle with colorectal cancer. He was 50.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gil was raised between Riverside and Baja California\u2019s Rosarito Beach, an upbringing that shaped the Mexican-American influences behind his pioneering technique and twist on fine dining. He spoke with Los Angeles magazine about his favorite eateries here<\/a>. <\/p>\n Gil was known in Los Angeles as a founder of the Supper Liberation Front, a pop-up dining series and supper club that aimed to democratize upscale dining by serving Mexican and Alta California cuisine in unconventional spaces.\u00a0<\/p>\n Gil was also celebrated for his culinary contributions to eateries such as Santa Monica\u2019s Tacos Punta Cabras, Beverly Hills\u2019 since-closed Mirame and Los Feliz\u2019s restaurant and bar, M\u00edrate. He helped the former Venice eatery Joe\u2019s Restaurant earn a Michelin star while serving as its chef de cuisine.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2023, Gil introduced the French-Japanese concept Maison Kasai to the Houston Brothers\u2019 Downtown L.A. hospitality complex, Level 8<\/a>. The teppanyaki restaurant epitomized Gil\u2019s approach to dining, applying Japanese and French techniques to the ingredients of California.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also opened Mother of Pearl, an al fresco oyster and champagne bar atop Level 8\u2019s outdoor terrace. Around this time, Gil had already been diagnosed with stage two colorectal cancer in 2022, and went into remission after eight cycles of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n The cancer returned and progressed to stage four in November 2023, leading to various holistic and Western treatment attempts in the years since. On June 22, a photo was posted to Gil\u2019s Instagram<\/a> sharing the news of his passing.<\/p>\n Gil is survived by his parents, Nellie and Gabriel Gil; his children, Maya and Aaron Gil, and their mother, his ex-wife, Lola Gil; and his fianc\u00e9e, Tharini Shanmugarajah. Friends and family remember him as a beacon of light whose kindness, as much as his cooking, shaped the 33 years he spent in the industry.<\/p>\n Scroll to continue reading<\/p>\n