Entrepreneur, tastemaker, chef, founder, and curator of all things Joan’s on Third, Joan McNamara created an L.A. foodie institution.

The daughter of Czech immigrants, Joan grew up in a hard-working home where life revolved around the kitchen. Studying at her mother’s apron strings, she absorbed countless family recipes cooking alongside the family matriarch.

She began her career working for industrial designer Paul McCobb in Manhattan and famed chef Dione Lucas. After launching her cooking school, she and Lucas opened The Egg Basket, a gourmet omelet restaurant inspired by French cuisine and culture on 59th Street near Bloomingdale's, which Joan eventually bought and ran herself.