Acerca de mí
My harmonious connection to food is evident in my role as Executive Chef/Partner of Spruce in San Francisco and Partner of The Village Pub in Woodside, California. With no formal culinary education, I have always relied on intuition and innate pleasure while creating dishes with clean, bright flavors. I have a deep respect for fresh ingredients and challenging methods in an ongoing exploration of old world and modern cooking. My elegant yet approachable food has made my restaurants both a local’s favorite and a destination restaurant for out-of-towners. It’s also what landed me on the cover of Food &Wine Magazine as one of “America’s Best New Chefs” of 2002!
The connection between a creative thought in my mind and the ability to develop the concept into a finished product using my hands has always attracted me. Cooking became a natural extension of this passion, igniting my career.
I grew up in a food-focused household, where formal, white tablecloth dinners were a bi-weekly event, I learned early on that a meal was an experience with a soul, bringing people together to share their lives. I began my career at the age of 16 working through several restaurants, developing skills for a career that chose me as much as I chose it.
After leaving Sol Y Luna for Europe, I cooked my way through Southern France and Northern Spain, acquiring an arsenal of authentic techniques. Inspired by these culinary adventures, I returned to San Francisco to join Slow Club, where the daily rotating menu provided the greatest creative challenge I had yet faced. Slow Club owner Jim Moffat offered me the opportunity to be chef after 6 months of working together. Moffat later invited me to be the opening chef for a new venture, 42 Degrees. During my tenure there, San Francisco Magazine awarded the restaurant “Best Bay Area Mediterranean Restaurant” and I received a glowing review in Gourmet Magazine.
Following these successes, I joined PlumpJack Squaw Valley in Lake Tahoe as Chef de Cuisine, helping to put the restaurant on the culinary map. Shortly after leaving PlumpJack for a long-overdue sabbatical, Tim Stannard recruited me and we opened The Village Pub, which quickly garnered a discerning clientele and culinary acclaim from both local and national publications.
Being at the helm of Spruce’s kitchen has allowed my love of cooking and years of dedication to flourish. I craft nearly everything that comes out of the kitchen by hand including a vast array of charcuterie. My vision to grow my own produce was brought to fruition through Spruce’s partnership with SMIP Ranch, a 5-acre organic farm in the serene hills of Woodside, California. My daily collaboration with the resident farmer results in a menu of contemporary American cuisine that represents a vision from farm to plate, producing food that is never fussy or overwrought.
I continue to seek out new techniques and skills to improve my craft. Through my travels both domestically and abroad, I emphasize learning a cuisine at its source, transforming the experience into my identity and cooking. I live in San Francisco with my wife Alison and young son. In my free time you can find me exploring the California coast, surfboard in tow.
Premios, Reconocimientos, y Sociedades
Food & Wine's "Best New Chef" 2002
Otros Servicios
Private dining is available at Spruce. Contact Donna Nicoletti at (415) 931-5115 or [email protected]
Chef Estados Unidos
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