Reinventing the Legendary Successes of Legal Sea Foods

For the Boston-based Legal Sea Foods organization, Chef Jeff Tenner is charged with building on the company's legendary success through the development of new products and exciting menus. He is responsible for menu and recipe development for the company's 32 restaurants. "If it has to do with food - whether menus, recipe training, dish presentation, or new concepts - I'm involved," he says. "It's my job to take ideas and make them realities."

Tenner's career was built on this genuine passion for food. After high school, he cooked professionally while attending Ohio State University. Practical understanding also grew when he lived on a small Alaskan island on the northwestern coast of British Columbia, working by day in a fish processing plant, by night in a seafood restaurant.

Next on his agenda was the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. He worked as a private chef, and practiced his craft at Devil's Thumb Resort near Winter Park, Colorado. When just 21, he became Executive Chef for this mountaintop resort.

In 1996, Tenner opened Lindbergh's Crossing, a country French bistro and wine bar in Portsmouth, NH. Three years later his team opened Ciento, a contemporary Spanish tapas bar. In 2001 he presented a dinner with winemaker Davis Bynum for the James Beard Foundation in New York City (NY). During this time, he served as adjunct instructor for the Atlantic Culinary Academy and chairman for the Seacoast Taste of the Nations.

In 2003, Tenner brought his wife and two young children to Boston, Massachusetts for a succession of roles with Whole Foods Market. Initially working as Executive Chef and later Culinary Team Leader, Tenner developed recipes for 29 stores in the North Atlantic region. Concurrently, he studied design at the Boston Architectural Center.

Currently, the 33-year-old Tenner explores future options for Legal Sea Foods. Though the company has been a traditional mainstay for over 50 years, it also boasts a knack for continual re-invention, maintaining a fresh, cutting-edge appeal for guests. Tenner's interests include Legal's approach to the Home Meal Replacement (HMR) niche market; beefed-up 'grab and go' choices for the company's airport locations; and novel selections for the Legal Test Kitchen (LTK) concept units. He investigates everything from ingredients to environment-friendly packaging to sous vide cooking techniques and the needs of the company's private dining clientele.