Career
Des Jardins was raised on a farm in Firebaugh, California, near Fresno. Her father is of French Acadian descent, and her mother’s family is from the Mexican state of Sonora. The Des Jardins" dinner table featured produce from the garden and game from the land in dishes which reflected her family"s Mexican and Louisianan-French Acadian heritage.
Des Jardins apprenticed at several three-star French restaurants, including Louisiana Maison Troisgros, and was executive chef at Joachim Splichal’s Patina in Los Los Angeles
Later, she worked at notable San Francisco restaurants Aqua, Elka, and Rubicon before opening Jardinière in 1998. Des Jardins uses locally sourced, organic, seasonal ingredients whenever possible, and prefers sourcing from smaller, sustainable farming and ranching operations.
Traci Des Jardins competed on Top Chef: Masters (season 3), that debuted April 6, 2011 and was a runner-up. She also appeared on an episode of Iron Chef America in 2005, in which she defeated Mario Batali.
Later, she competed in The Next Iron Chef but was eliminated in the first episode.