Our Team
Who we are
Bernhard Mairinger
Chef & Owner
Two times James Beard Award nominee (Best New Restaurant and Rising Star Chef), Chef Bernhard Mairinger brought Los Angeles its first taste of authentic Austrian cuisine with BierBeisl Restaurant.
The Austrian born chef who started his career in Los Angeles as Chef de Cuisine with the renowned Patina Group which earned 4* stars by the LA Times during his time there, was quickly recognized as one of the Top 30Under30 young talents within LA’s hospitality scene.
Chef Mairinger is 6‘8“ in case you are wondering how tall you have to be for that free meal.
Gisele Habib
Pastry Chef
Gisele has been mentored by some of the most decorated chefs in the US and has worked in a number of top restaurants: The Bazaar by José Andrès, Somni, Hotel BelAir, Crustacean Beverly Hills – and her confections showcase contrasting flavors, textures, and the various techniques she’s learned. Food is evocative, and Gisele communicates her most treasured memories through every bite she creates.
Her love and passion for her profession is matched only by her support for her hometown soccer team, Flamengo – supporting is in Gisele’s nature and soccer is a sport close to her heart.
Tiffany Coles
Sous Chef
Chef Mairinger first encountered this little force of nature at the well-known (for various things!) Petit L’Ermitage Hotel in West Hollywood, where she was working as one of the Sous Chefs. Her GSD (both German shepherd and getting shit done) attitude quickly aligned with Chef Mairinger’s philosophy. Always in a good mood and smiling, she is a key player in Mairinger’s kitchen team.
Every chef would be lucky to find such a loyal, humble, and fierce team player as Tiffany, for which reason Chef Mairinger took her talents to Spring Place Beverly Hills, Alyeska Resort (Alaska) among others before bringing her to Lustig.
Martin Riese
Water Sommelier
Is that the water guy? Yes that’s him. Embarking on my culinary adventure at the Relais & Châteaux Hotel Stadt Hamburg in northern Germany, I honed my skills before jetting off to the United States. Alongside the culinary pursuits, he earned the title of Mineral Water Sommelier in 2010, dubbed the country’s top water expert by the German press.
His aquatic expertise has taken him to TV and radio shows across Europe, South America, and Asia. Co-authoring the acclaimed “Die Welt des Wassers” in 2009, he made waves with signature water programs at renowned establishments like Ray’s & Stark Bar and Patina Restaurant. Launching the Water 101 Class and founding the Fine Water Academy in 2018 with Michael Mascha.
Payman
The New Bar Guy
Payman started out as a lawyer, but after practicing for a decade in CA and NY, he eventually realized he had a passion for a different type of bar. Although he’s a homegrown Angeleno, his passion for the craft of bartending has taken him around the world where he has been at the helm of numerous bars on the World’s 50 Best list, including Please Don’t Tell (NYC), 28 HongKong Street (Singapore), and Ounce (Taipei).
Locally he may have made you a drink at Osteria Mozza, Bavel, or Saffy’s. And if you haven’t had one of his cocktails, now’s your chance to have two or three of them at Lustig.
Every team member matters at Lustig.
So we want to give a little shout out to all of them!
Teresa, Anna, Maggie, Valerie, Lorena, Maria, Shivangi, Nayana, Maci, Jacqueline, Kyla, Jake, Tom, Brian, the other Brian, Kevin, the other Kevin, Paul, Sun, Cristian, Matt, Luca, Luc, Angel, Jason, Yovani, Marcos, Josue, Chris, April, Kat and Michael
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