Overheard at the 2025 California Michelin Guide Ceremony | Eater LA
"Providence was finally upgraded from two to three stars, coinciding with chef Michael Cimarusti and business partner Donato Poto’s 20-year anniversary. Michael Cimarusti offered an extended reflection on the team's role and the restaurant's staff: "I had no idea. I thought we lost when the list of two-starred restaurants came out. I had no pretensions about it. We just go in and do the work, and if it comes, it comes. Thankful to be supported by an incredible team at Providence. Honestly, I think we’re the best we’ve ever been, in the kitchen and also the front of the house. I’m happy and elated but more than anything happy for Donato [Poto], my wife, Donato’s wife, Tristan Aitchison, our chef de cuisine of 20 years, our cooks, prep cooks, fish cutters, runners, bussers, servers, captains. It’s difficult, it’s not always as rewarding as you might hope it would be. At this time of the U.S., to be surrounded by a group of people who feel apprehension and dread every day for what might happen to them or in their community, family members, or friends, to work with people who are experiencing that right now, it’s very difficult. I hope that this achievement, which they’ve all been a part of, brings a little pride and maybe eases their burden a little bit. I’m proud to have employed probably a team of 80 percent immigrants ever since the restaurant opened, and Providence wouldn’t be Providence without them. None of these people in this room right now would be here were it not for immigrants, and I’m very proud to be an employer of dozens of immigrants who cook, clean, serve, and do all the very hard work day in and day out. I’m proud to be a part of this industry, representing Los Angeles." Colleagues echoed the importance of the moment: Jon Yao called Providence "the north star" for cooks, and Ryan Bailey remarked, "This is big for LA — LA needed this. To see a restaurant like Providence doing it for 20 years, that’s the most inspiring thing. I look at what Donato does with service, the passion, and the energy. It is hard to sustain that in our city for that long." - Matthew Kang
