Dylan Jobsz
Esther's Kitchen | Las Vegas, NV
April 2026
Dylan Jobsz dropped out of a STEM program during his senior year of college before entering the restaurant industry through friends' encouragement. He began his culinary education as a prep cook at the Malibu Pier Restaurant & Bar, where he worked every station until he had the fundamentals down. He went on to work across high volume restaurants like Chef Jason Paluska's The Lark in Santa Barbara, California, and Clifton's Cafeteria in Los Angeles.
Jobsz became a line cook at Superba Food + Bread in El Segundo, where he met his future mentor, Chef James Trees. They bonded while working events like Outstanding in the Field at Coachella. There, he expanded his knowledge of pastry by cross training under Rising Stars alum Carlos Enriquez on his days off at their bakery, learning classic viennoiserie. Jobsz returned to college to complete a degree in restaurant hospitality at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2018, he was finishing up his studies just as Trees returned to his hometown to open Esther's Kitchen. Jobsz joined the opening team as a sous chef and developed the restaurant's bread program. He even milled flour in his own home as he experimented with different grains.
A few years later, Jobsz was promoted to chef de cuisine at Trees' Ada's, working proudly on their ice cream and pizza programs until the pandemic hit. He returned to Esther's Kitchen, first as a sous chef, then chef de cuisine, and now leads a 50-person team as the restaurant's executive chef. Throughout the menu, Jobsz infuses his Sri Lankan heritage as well as his pastry and baking background into dishes like his goat curry malloreddus. He continues to develop his team and hopes to one day move into a role of mentorship—one in which he can give younger cooks a shot at running the show.
