Cher Brendan Collins (photo courtesy of BOA)

BOA has a striking name. It invokes images of an exotic creature – one that is exciting, tempting. When a restaurant has a name so distinct, it needs a chef that can live up to its promise – offering cuisine tantalizing enough to bring in the posh and trendy on the Sunset Strip.

Chef Brendan Collins is the man behind it all. Originally from the U.K., he came to his culinary skills naturally.

“When I was young, my parents owned pubs in England,” Collins said. “My chores were to go and help in the kitchen – peeling potatoes, peeling carrots, that kind of thing. So, from a very young age, I’ve worked in professional kitchens, and it’s always been something that I loved. Probably the first thing I remember cooking was an English breakfast.”

He quit secondary school at the age of 15 to enroll in culinary school, training in the French technique. He had his first job just two years later, working at the two-star Michelin restaurant Le Gavorche in London. He moved around England from there, helping to cement a sterling reputation. In 2002, he moved to Los Angeles.

Collins quickly made a name for himself as a chef supreme. He worked at the acclaimed Melisse Restaurant in Santa Monica. He opened Mesa in Orange County and Anisette in Santa Monica. He was the executive chef of The Hall at Palihouse. He also opened Waterloo & City in Culver City. Then, last year, BOA in West Hollywood came calling.

“They wanted to bring the menu up to date,” he said. “It’s been a really, really busy eight months between changing the menu, going through a holiday season, Valentine’s Day, opening a new restaurant … it’s been one hell of whirlwind.”

Since Collins started, BOA has expanded to Austin, Texas, flying back-and-forth to help open the restaurant. BOA has a location in Manhattan Beach, too, in addition to its West Hollywood flagship. Collins said that each restaurant requires its own special skills.

“The staples, the nuts and bolts of the menu, they’re all exactly the same,” Collins said. “Each restaurant has its own chef de cuisine, and they create their own specials, so there’s always a little bit of its own flair.”

He’s also brought a little bit of Europe with him to BOA.

“I spent a long time creating the recipes, and I created them all in metric – so there’s a lot less room for error – which was quite interesting teaching people that were being used to using cups and ounces, to using grams and kilograms,” he explained.

In West Hollywood, Collins feels most at home.

“I think it’s quintessentially Los Angeles. It’s great food. It’s great hospitality coupled with great technical service, beautiful people and great music in a really charming, beautiful space,” he said.

And when it comes to the robust BOA menu, Collins finds it difficult choosing a favorite item, and describes a favorite meal instead.

“Every day, we can eat something differently and leave happy. Personally, I like to eat Porterhouse. I think that Porterhouse here is exceptional quality. If you’re into wagyu, the wagyu is something that we really put a lot of love and attention to. I think the Westholme ribeye that we have on the menu is one of the best pieces of meat you could probably get in the city. And then appetizers, I really like our caviar cones. It’s basically a crispy cone filled with chive mashed potatoes, fresh crab and a real nice big dollop of colluded caviar. And for dessert, I put my sticky toffee pudding on the menu, and it’s become a fan favorite very quickly,” Collins said.

For all of this and more, visit BOA in West Hollywood, located at 9200 Sunset Blvd. For information, call (310)278-2050 or visit boasteak.com.

(photo courtesy of BOA)