A New Jersey native, Tim landed his first job as a cook for a country club
when he was just 17. “The head chef there was a graduate from the
Culinary Institute of America. I realized that I had a passion for
cooking and he took me to the school for a tour. I was hooked and enrolled the next week.”
 
After graduating with honors, he landed a sous chef position in Meyersville, New Jersey, at the acclaimed Tarragon Tree which, under his guidance, was awarded three stars by the New York Times. He later moved to New York and worked with Zarela Martinez, the noted restaurateur/owner of Manhattan’s Zarela’s, and then with Brendan Walsh, chef/owner of New York’s Arizona 206. “They both had fantastic recipes and were a great inspiration for developing my own cooking style,” he notes.

Sullivan arrived in San Diego as the chef de cuisine at the venerable Mister A’s. All the while he was honing his Latin/fusion cooking skills with classic techniques and ingredients, experimenting with chilies and introducing ethnic lunch and dinner specials. Before coming to Bernardo Heights, Tim was executive chef at the award-winning eateries Cilantro’s, Epazote and Pacific Coast Grill.

A noted culinary expert, Sullivan has done numerous cooking demonstrations, including segments for nationally televised CBS This Morning and local CBS, NBC and ABC network affiliates. His awards include the Gold Award from the Southern California Restaurant Writers and the Gold Medallion Award from the San Diego Restaurant Association.