“My passion is moving me in a different direction,” Ms. Her father is of French Acadian descent, and her mother’s family is from a village in the Mexican state of Sonora. Des Jardins, who grew up on a 4,000-acre farm in the San Joaquin Valley, will also pivot from French-influenced cooking to focus on Mexican food. She also works with the Bon Appétit Management Company to operate Public House, at Oracle Park, and three ventures in the Presidio with the Presidio Trust: the Commissary. Des Jardins will continue to oversee her other San Francisco restaurants, including Mijita Cocina Mexicana, a casual Mexican restaurant in the Ferry Building, and a weeknights-only bar called School Night, which opened last year. “In those days, you had to have your own place and call the shots in order to control the environment.” “Traci was one of the very first intensely serious woman chefs who had a super-solid French background and stayed the course to compete on that level,” said Mary Sue Milliken, an owner, along with Susan Feniger, of the Border Grill restaurants.

(She also became a television presence, and in 2005, beat Mario Batali for the title of Iron Chef.) Des Jardins’s traditional French training, which began under Joachim Splichal at Patina in Los Angeles, and included turns in French kitchens overseen by Alain Ducasse and Pierre and Jean Troisgros. The menu was built on California ingredients and infused with Ms.

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