David Kinch | |
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| Born | (1961-04-04)April 4, 1961 (age 64) Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Education | Johnson & Wales University |
| Culinary career | |
| Cooking style | California cuisine |
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Current restaurant(s)
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David Kinch (born April 4, 1961) is anAmericanchef and restaurateur. He owned and operatedManresa, a restaurant inLos Gatos, California,[1] which was awarded threeMichelin stars[2][3] in 2016.[4] Kinch's California cuisine has strongFrench,Catalan andJapanese influences.[5] Kinch opened a second restaurant in Los Gatos, calledThe Bywater, on January 12, 2016.[6]
Manresa has been named one of theWorld's 50 Best Restaurants byRestaurant Magazine, was in America's Top 50 Restaurants byGourmet, and has received four stars from theSan Francisco Chronicle.[7] He is also dean at theInternational Culinary Center, founded as theFrench Culinary Institute in 1984. Kinch is a winner of the Best Chef in America award for the Pacific region from theJames Beard Foundation[8] as well as GQ's Chef of the Year for 2011.[9]
Kinch graduated fromJohnson & Wales University inProvidence, Rhode Island in 1981. He began his career in New York City at the Hotel Parker Meridian, and later held an executive Chef position at La Petite Ferme. In 1984, he left to work under Marc Chevillot at the Hotel de la Poste in Beaune, France.[10]
In 1985 he accepted a kitchen position at the acclaimed "The Quilted Giraffe" in New York City and worked his way up to a management chef position. After leaving the Quilted Giraffe, Kinch spent five months atMount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California helping Jeffrey Patterson produce the 1988 Chardonnay vintage.[11] Kinch then made his way to the Hotel Clio Court restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan, returning to Northern California to work in the kitchens of San Francisco's Silks and Ernie's restaurants.
Kinch spent two more years in Europe with Dieter Müller at the two star restaurantSchweizer Stuben [de] in Wertheim, Germany; with Marc Meneau, at the three-star restaurant L'Esperance in St. Pere-sous-Vézeley, Burgundy, France; and at Pedro Subijana'sAkelarre in San Sebastián, Spain.[12]
Kinch opened his first restaurant, the bistro-style Sent Sovi, with Aimee Hébert inSaratoga, California in 1995. Kinch and Hébert operated the restaurant for seven years.
Kinch founded Manresa in Los Gatos in 2002. It received little notice at the time, though the local press called it "a culinary dream venue... for those who take food seriously".[13] He purchased the former Village House restaurant location, writing that he was encouraged by chefThomas Keller to buy a building while retrieving a forgotten wine bag at the French Laundry restaurant in Napa Valley, where Kinch had dined the night before.[14] Manresa closed at the end of December 2022,[15][16] but re-opened in 2024 as "Ritual at Manresa": a venue for other Michelin-starred chefs to offer month-long guest appearances.[17]
Kinch also runs Mentone -- a French/Italian restaurant he started in Aptos, CA in 2020.[18]
In October 2013, Kinch published a 328-page cookbook,Manresa: An Edible Reflection, with Christine Muhlke. The book featured photographs by Eric Wolfinger and an introduction by owner-chefEric Ripert of Manhattan seafood restaurantLe Bernardin.[19]
Kinch appeared as a guest judge along with award-winning sommelierAndre Mack on episode 4 (entitled "Daring Pairings") ofseason 1 of the ABC reality showThe Taste, which aired on February 12, 2013. He also appeared as a guest judge on seasons 11 and 15 ofTop Chef.[20]
Kinch, along withGabrielle Hamilton, is featured in season four ofThe Mind of a Chef.[21] Together, Kinch and Hamilton share the 2016Daytime Emmy Award forOutstanding Culinary Host for their role on the program.[22]
A 2005 write-up in theLondon Observer, in which food criticJay Rayner called his 26-course meal at Manresa his most memorable of 2004, started the international acclaim that transformed Kinch into one of the most celebrated chefs of his generation.[23]
Anthony Bourdain attended a Kinch meal and stated it was a "wildly creative but well-thought-out meal. Beautifully presented - surprisingly minimalist, very, very tasty. ... This guy is indeed something special."[5]
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