David Kinch
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David Kinch (born April 4, 1961) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...
and restauranteur. He owns and operates Manresa, a restaurant in
Los Gatos, California Los Gatos (, ; ) is an incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 census. It is located in the San Francisco Bay Area just southwest of San Jose in the foothills of the ...
, which was awarded three
Michelin stars The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...
in 2016. Kinch's California cuisine has strong French,
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and
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
influences. Kinch opened a second restaurant in Los Gatos, called The Bywater, on January 12, 2016. Manresa has been named one of the World's 50 Best Restaurants by ''
Restaurant Magazine ''Restaurant'' magazine is a British magazine aimed at chefs, restaurant proprietors and other catering professionals that concentrates on the fine dining end of the restaurant industry. History and profile ''Restaurant'' was founded in 2001. T ...
'', was in America's Top 50 Restaurants by ''
Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by refined, even elaborate preparations and presentations of aesthetically balanced meals of several contrasting, of ...
'', and has received four stars from the ''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
''. He is also dean at the
International Culinary Center The International Culinary Center was a private for-profit culinary school headquartered in New York City. In 2020, it merged into the Institute of Culinary Education, also in New York City. It was founded as The French Culinary Institute by D ...
, founded as the French Culinary Institute in 1984. Kinch is a winner of the Best Chef in America award for the Pacific region from the
James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...
as well as GQ's Chef of the Year for 2011.


Career

Kinch graduated from
Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
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. 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 at Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California helping Jeffrey Patterson produce the 1988 Chardonnay vintage. 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 restaurant in Wertheim, Germany; with Marc Meneau, at the three-star restaurant L'Esperance in St. Pere-sous-Vézeley, Burgundy, France; and at Pedro Subijana's Akelarre in San Sebastián, Spain. Kinch opened his first restaurant, the bistro-style Sent Sovi, with Aimee Hébert in
Saratoga, California Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California. Located in Silicon Valley, in the southern Bay Area, its population was 31,051 at the 2020 census. Saratoga is an affluent residential community, known for its wineries, restaurants, and attra ...
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". He purchased the former Village House restaurant location, writing that he was encouraged by chef
Thomas Keller Thomas Aloysius Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foun ...
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. A two-alarm fire at Manresa caused substantial damage to the restaurant on July 7, 2014. After extensive work and a complete kitchen rebuild, it re-opened on New Year's Eve, 2014.


Cookbook

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-chef
Eric Ripert The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...
of Manhattan seafood restaurant Le Bernardin.


Television

Kinch appeared as a guest judge along with award-winning sommelier Andre Mack on episode 4 (entitled "Daring Pairings") of
season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambiguati ...
of the ABC reality show ''
The Taste ''The Taste'' is an American cooking-themed reality competition series on ABC. It aired from January 22, 2013, through January 22, 2015. On May 7, 2015, ABC canceled ''The Taste'' after three seasons. Format ''The Taste'' season begins with blin ...
'', which aired on February 12, 2013. He also appeared as a guest judge on seasons 11 and 15 of ''
Top Chef ''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
''. Kinch, along with Gabrielle Hamilton, is featured in season four of ''
The Mind of a Chef ''The Mind of a Chef'' is a non-fiction television series on PBS narrated and executive produced by Anthony Bourdain, and combines travel, cooking, history, and science. Each season follows a different chef, or pair of chefs, and examines their b ...
''. Together, Kinch and Hamilton share the 2016
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for Outstanding Culinary Host for their role on the program.


Critical reception

A 2005 write-up in the ''
London Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', in which food critic
Jay Rayner Jason Matthew Rayner (born 14 September 1966) is an English journalist and food critic. Early life Jason Matthew Rayner was born on 14 September 1966. He is the younger son of Desmond Rayner and journalist Claire Rayner. His family is Jewish. H ...
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. 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."


References


External links

*
Manresa restaurant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinch, David Living people 1961 births American male chefs Molecular gastronomy Head chefs of Michelin starred restaurants People from Los Gatos, California Cuisine of the San Francisco Bay Area Chefs from Rhode Island James Beard Foundation Award winners