Leigh Whittaker made a midlife shift from marketing medical devices to making Mediterranean food on Newbury Street

Leigh Whittaker, 54, left a longtime career in sales and marketing to go to the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. After stints at Earth at Hidden Pond and Fox & The Knife, she opened her own Mediterranean restaurant, Le Mari, on Newbury Street this month. When she’s not working, the Seaport resident enjoys relaxing with peanut butter and french fries, although not at the same time.

What were you doing before, and what led you to upend your career to do something completely different?
I was running the commercial aspect of a medical device company, covering Asia, Europe, and the US. I was running sales and marketing education, basically traveling 250,000 miles a year. I did a lot of education with doctors on our medical devices. I was inspired by so many great restaurants and chefs and food around the globe, and I had always loved to cook. I was always the one preparing all of the holiday dinners. Everyone kept telling me: “You really need to get your own restaurant!”

When we were locked down [during COVID], I stopped traveling. Once I got off that hamster wheel, I kind of sat there for a minute. I moved to my house in Maine and was like: “What am I going to do with the rest of my life? I think it’s time for a change.”

So I enrolled in culinary school and spent a year at Cambridge Culinary, which was unbelievable. I felt that I couldn’t just get a restaurant without really experiencing what it was like to work in the back of the house. When you have all these incredible line cooks working for you, you need to have some kind of street credibility. Because I was in Maine at the time, I took a position at Earth in Kennebunkport at Hidden Pond. When I came back to my house in Boston, I was really inspired by so many really strong, amazing female chefs. I would have loved to work for one. So I ended up over at Fox & The Knife in South Boston under chef Karen Akunowicz. I spent a couple of years there and became her sous chef.

Those are two very well-known, high-profile restaurants. People would kill to work there. How did you do it?
A combination of things. At Earth, I honestly walked in. I’d been there as a customer so many times. It’s very close to my home in Maine. I walked in, and the head chef had just come over from the White Barn Inn. He was shifting his staff a little bit. We chatted, and I did a little stage, where you kind of demonstrate your skills. And he was really aware of my culinary program.

And, honestly, I’m bit older than the 20-year-olds walking in. When you hire, you want people to show up. You know, I think because of my background in business, knowing that I had this kind of big job before, I got hired on the spot and started the next day. I couldn’t believe it: I really didn’t think I would get hired there. And I did, and it was great. The line cooks there were super talented, and they all kind of took me under their wing. I was able to learn all the stations. I moved up through the ranks from making salads to being allowed to work on the grill and pasta. With that on my resume, I walked into Fox & The Knife and basically got hired on the spot there too. … Both places definitely took a chance.

I talk to so many chefs who say it’s impossible to even get a restaurant in Boston with liquor license costs and rents. How did you do that?
I was actually looking in the suburbs. That’s where I thought I would land. But I’m actually in a unique situation where my space is owned by the Newbury Guest House. They have what’s called an innkeepers’ license. They can use a liquor license under a management agreement, and I’m part of the management agreement with the hotel. I’m able to order alcohol and manage the sale of that alcohol under the license. It’s something that affords people like me the opportunity to get into this situation. I have access to full liquor, which a lot of people don’t. They have a cordial or a wine and beer license. I’m very lucky that this came about.

I hope that this changes in Boston. I know there are people like me who would love to be able to [open a restaurant]. I live in the Seaport, and the food scene here is decent, but you do see that a lot of the restaurants here do have multiple locations. I don’t want to call them chains, because they’re really not. But because they have multiple locations, they’re able to sort of stratify costs across their locations.

What’s your earliest food memory?
I grew up in the western part of Massachusetts. I went to UConn undergrad, and then really have been in Boston since. My mom was a nurse, and my dad was a military guy, a retired Air Force colonel. My mom worked the evening shifts when I was very young. And so when I came home, I often would start dinner. Then I started taking over holiday dinners. I really started digging into cookbooks. I think the first one I got was probably one of Martha Stewart’s holiday dinner cookbooks. I would pore through those pages and really try to curate menus for my family, fooling around with ingredients.

What’s your favorite Boston restaurant? Where do you eat when you’re not working?
Oh my gosh. Well, I have to say, O Ya is egregiously expensive, but I love their omakase tasting. I think that’s amazing. You know who I think is doing some great food right now? Krasi. Their Greek food is fantastic. And outside of Boston, chef Rachel Miller is doing unbelievable stuff at Nightshade Noodle Bar [in Lynn]. I just think she is an unbelievable talent right now. I love Mare in the North End. And, for a fun spot, I’ve sent people over to Zuma.

How about something like pizza, or casual takeout if you’re staying in?
I’m a Santarpio’s girl when it comes to pizza. That’s my style of pizza. I love Dumpling Daughter, too.

Favorite snack? What can’t you resist?
Peanut butter and french fries.

Together or separate?
Separate. French fries are a food group. Everyone asks me if “The Bear” is like real life. And I’m like, “I can’t watch season three, because unfortunately it is.” The scene where [the chef] comes home and is sitting on his couch eating a peanut butter sandwich? Yep, that’s pretty much my life.

What is the biggest lesson you learned at culinary school?
That a dish can always be fixed. People panic if they make a mistake. And there’s always a way to fix it. You never want to waste products. There’s always a way to fix something.

Interview has been edited and condensed.