Martha Wiggins brings a passion for the culinary craft to all of her dishes. Growing up in Washington, D.C., Wiggins started in the industry at local deli Pumpernickels at 15 years old, where she found her passion for professional cooking. At age 20, she moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts and attended a culinary arts program while also advancing her culinary experience in several fine-dining establishments.

In 2010, Wiggins relocated to New Orleans and joined the opening staff of Sylvain as the sous chef to executive chef Alex Harrell, who helped her develop her creative skills. In October 2014, Wiggins took over as executive chef at Sylvain. As executive chef at Sylvain, her modern gastropub fare has landed her on The Times-Picayune’s list of Chefs to Watch 2015, Gambit’s 2015 Emerging Chefs list and her holiday cocktail snacks were featured on the cover of Food & Wine’s December 2015 issue. Her work at Sylvain also garnered attention from the James Beard Foundation – in 2017, she was a semifinalist for the Rising Star Award; in 2018, she was among the semifinalists for Best Chef South. In early 2018, she left Sylvain and joined the opening team at The Elysian Bar at the new Hotel Peter & Paul.