Richard Bell is the executive chef at The Bell Époque, Ventura County’s only 4-star restaurant. He, along with pastry chef Jon Paulson and sous chef Adele Curtwood, were called “the new trifecta in California cuisine,” by Ramone Estes of the L.A. Times.
Richard’s interest in food was piqued at a young age, when he started foisting his culinary creations on his four younger siblings. This was a time of great excitement in his life. His parents, The Bells, formed a traveling variety act called The Bellweathers, in which they performed a sort of cocktail gymnastics, the first and the last time mixology and unicycling were to meet successfully. Unfortunately, this success meant the Bells had to leave their children for weeks at the time under the care of a doddering uncle. The young Bells stepped up to the plate, so to speak, in their absence. Richard’s sisters took care of the laundry, the homework, and the bills. Uncle Rainy had been a chef in his time, and Richard took care of the meals under his direction. His first memory, Richard says, involves peanut butter and pork rind soup.