Organic, sustainable and local aren’t just industry buzzwords to Kevin Templeton, executive chef at some of San Diego Gaslamp district’s most popular eateries.
Whether it’s the seasonal-based menu at barleymash, the made-from-scratch small plates of The Smoking Gun or the line-caught seafood at Hasta Mañana Cantina, Templeton said the principles that guide his menus come from his youth growing up in Ramona.
“Growing up with lots of land all around and friends that had egg ranches and grew livestock set a tone for understanding farming and sustainability and using what you have around you,” he said.
Born in Poway, Templeton’s family moved to Ramona when he was in the third grade. Growing up, he said he rode horses “until I discovered motorcycles,” while his mother, Anne (Patterson) Ritenour, was a member of the Rainbow Riders, an equestrian drill team, and still rides.
By sixth grade, Kevin was already cooking basics such as mac and cheese and ramen noodles with Rob, his older brother by seven years.
“My mom’s side of the family was very by-the-book, no thinking outside of the box,” he said. “My dad, Robert Templeton, was always very creative as far as cooking. So I got the best of both worlds.”
By his junior year at Ramona High School, Templeton was regularly hosting impromptu barbecues and dinners for his friends, and knew cooking was what he wanted to do.
“I hung out with a bunch of punk rockers, and we’d gather at my house and I’d cook a meal for everyone. I wanted to bring everybody together and put smiles on everyone’s faces,” he said.
But he was always aware the culinary life wasn’t going to be easy.
“The craft at that time, in the late 90s, was brutal. There were no days off. I worked two to three different jobs all the time, I was grinding for as long as I can ,” Templeton recalled. “But I just knew this was what I wanted to do and I wasn’t doing it for the money.”
After graduating from Ramona High in 1997, he attended Palomar College, studying nutrition and dietetics.
A year later, he attended a culinary school near Portland, Oregon, where his mother had moved.
Describing the curriculum at the school as “two years pushed into one,” he said 10-hour days for the next year were the norm.
Since the school was downtown, the local chefs and restaurant owners would hire the students for whatever jobs they needed over the weekend, ranging from catering to banquets to auctions and more, he said.
In addition to those jobs, he worked as much as he could at an internship.
Immediately after graduation, he returned to San Diego and began work in Top of the Cove, a fine dining restaurant, as part of another internship.
By the age of 21, in addition to Top of the Cove, he had worked at some of San Diego’s top restaurants of the time, including Peohe’s, Azul La Jolla and Fox Sports Grill.
He said he would wait tables and work front of the house during the day, and cook at night.
After moving and working in Austin, Texas for a year, he returned to San Diego in 2012, when the Verant Group asked him to take charge of creating the menu for a new eatery — barleymash — in the Gaslamp Quarter.
“It was a pivotal moment,” Templeton said. “The owners gave me complete creativity on the menu — they wanted alcohol in everything and for all of it to be over the top. It was a culmination of all my fine dining experiences and the perfect depiction of who I am as a chef.”
Templeton, who will celebrate 13 years with barleymash in May, said he’s “fortunate to have been there since Day One.”
He continues taking on multiple roles in the industry. Some of his accolades include San Diego Chef of the Year in 2013 and 2016, by the Gaslamp Quarter Association, Best Burger at the San Diego Food and Wine Festival and more.
He competed on Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” in 2016, and became a “Chopped” Champion in 2019.
He’s often featured on local television features for his culinary expertise.
Several years ago Templeton ed with some partners and became a restaurant owner.
“It’s a challenge and a learning curve. Fun and very stressful at the same time,” he said.
The group recently opened the fourth location of Spill the Beans Coffee + Bagels, serving fresh cooked meals and unique, California-style bagels.
Templeton developed the bagels — described as sweeter, bigger, fluffier and less dense than traditional bagels — with Karina Orozco, chef at Spill the Beans.
A fifth Spill the Beans is set to open at Ocean Beach this spring.
Hasta Manana Cantina, which debuted at 310 Fifth Ave. in June 2024, boasts flavors inspired by Baja, California.
About three years ago, Templeton started teaching culinary classes at Mesa College, where he es on the principles of sustainability and local, organic choices to his students.
“That’s a really good spark, giving back and teaching the younger generation,” he said. “It’s really, really fun.”
At least once a month, he performs with his heavy metal band, Godhammered.
“I genuinely love these guys,” he said, noting that some of the band have been together for 13 to 20 years.
“It’s a great outlet, especially for the stressful job of cooking. I couldn’t do one without the other.”
Templeton lives with Indy, a 2-year-old mixed breed dog he rescued.
He often returns to Ramona to visit friends, and enjoys riding his motorcycle in the mountains.
“We’re very fortunate in this area, with our weather, our produce, our seafood, our livestock — this is a very, very special place on Earth. I’m pretty darn sure this will always be my home,” he said
