Elka Gilmore
By: Simon
July 19, 2026 | Updated: July 22, 2026
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Elka Gilmore (March 17, 1960 – July 6, 2019) was an American chef and restaurateur who pioneered West Coast fusion cuisine. Her San Francisco restaurant, Elka, earned national acclaim, and she was nominated for the James Beard Foundation Award for Best California Chef in 1994. She was a trailblazer for queer women in the culinary industry.
Early Life
Elka Gilmore made her debut in the culinary world at age eleven, washing dishes at a French restaurant in Austin, Texas, in an attempt to earn enough money to run away from a family she describes as “basically dysfunctional.” Having tasted the culinary world, Gilmore knew she would never give it up. At age 15, she left Texas and enrolled in an accelerated studies program at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Her big break came at age 16 when L’Etoile’s chef walked out, and the precocious teenager was asked to take over.
Career
After four years at L’Etoile, Gilmore left Madison for Europe, where she served a six-month internship at Lou Callen Inn in the South of France. She later travelled all over Asia, eating foods and learning techniques that she would eventually meld with the French influences of her training.
At Gilmore’s first restaurant, Camelions in Los Angeles, she made a name for herself cooking flavorful French and Northern Italian food. But it was at her namesake restaurant, Elka, in San Francisco’s Japantown that Gilmore began to experiment with what would become her trademark style: Franco-Asian fusion.
In 1995, she returned to New York City for two years to open Kokachin at the Omni Berkshire Place Hotel, before returning to San Francisco to open Oodles bistro in 1998.
Awards and Recognition
- James Beard Foundation Award nomination for Best California Chef (1994)
- National acclaim for Elka restaurant in San Francisco
Legacy
Elka Gilmore’s legacy extends beyond her cooking. She was a mentor to some of the country’s best lesbian chefs and turned the world of haute cuisine—traditionally a male domain—into a space of diversity. The queer community remembers her as a trailblazer who created space for women and LGBTQ+ individuals in professional kitchens. Elka Gilmore died on July 6, 2019 in San Francisco at age 59 due to cardiac arrest.
Elka Gilmore Video
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