Eric
Ernest CEC, CCA, AAC
Eric Ernest CEC, CCA, AAC
Executive Chef/AD of Purchasing & Logistics
USC Hospitality
Chef Ernest is the Executive Chef and Associate Director of USC Hospitality. Eric also oversees Purchasing, Logistics & Systems for the University of Southern California. Chef is responsible for the culinary vision, systems and strategy for almost 30,000 meals per day. Chef Eric works with our hospitality staff to create training programs and culinary mentorship for Hospitality and surrounding departments. Our award winning Culinary Development programs ensure we have highly trained and engaged culinarians for our many venues and event spaces.
Prior to USC, Chef held positions as Executive Chef for SBE, the Royale Group, Innovative Dining Group & the world renowned Citrine in Hollywood, CA. He also worked under the tutelage of Wolfgang Puck, Lee Hefter and Yoshi Kojima. Chef reopened the historic Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, the SLS Hotel & revamped the ever-popular Gladstone’s in Malibu.
Chef is the curator of our campus food philosophy which is our value system in the face of changing social, economic and environmental pressure on our food supply and product offerings. It is important to provide the Best USC Experience daily without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.
Eric’s hero is Julia Child and his constant positive attitude has helped him man the stoves at some of the West Coasts most prominent institutions. Eric has degrees in Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management, is a CEIP graduate at the Culinary Institute of America and is a 2019 Master’s of Science candidate at the USC Marshall School of Business. In June 2016, Chef Ernest was awarded a Diploma in Culinary Excellence by the World Master Chef Society.
Chef also is a prominent figure in cooking competitions, holds over 20 medals and several certifications awarded by the American Culinary Federation. Early 2018, Chef Ernest was inducted into the American Academy of Chefs.
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