David Kinch is the acclaimed chef who helped establish Los Gatos, California as an international culinary destination. ManresaKinch, 61, could not be reached for comment, but a representative confirmed that he plans to sell the business in 20 years.
Before opening Manresa, known for its modern, technically deft California cuisine, Kinch ran the popular Saratoga Bistro on a shoestring. But I admired chefs like Paul Bocuse and Alain Chapelle, and I admired haute cuisine that I had experienced and learned in other parts of the world.
Kinch had no plans to buy a property in Los Gatos until 1998, when he dined at The French Laundry. A 2013 cookbook states:Manresa: edible reflexThe restaurant’s chef, Thomas Keller, said that buying the land to house the restaurant, as Mr. Keller did in Yountville, California, was the best way for the chef to secure a stable future. I’m talking about how I convinced him.
In Los Gatos, Kinch found a former restaurant and event space that had been vacant for years vandalized and graffitied. He slowly transformed it into a three-Michelin-starred restaurant whose sister restaurant he founded Manresa Bread, where generations of chefs have worked, including Avery Ruzicka. I was.
Manresa is particularly well known for its kitchen and farm partnerships. i love apple farm — the rhythm of the farm that informs the menu, the menu that shapes the seasonal planning of the farm — but that partnership ended in 2016.
Some restaurants open a bottle of champagne to celebrate their 15th anniversary, but in 2017 Mr. Kinch closed Manresa for a month and traveled with his kitchen staff across France to discover the fine French kitchens. I made it possible to open a store. Le Taillevent in Paris, Le Petit Nice Marseille and L’Oustau de Baumanière At Les Baux de Provence.
French director Remi Anfosso chronicled this journey in his film A Chef’s Voyage. The film chronicles some of Mr. Kinch’s early influences, offering a glimpse into the culinary education that a certain French haute cuisine once demanded. Yes, attractive, but strict, demanding and costly.
In a statement about his resignation, Kinch said, “This is a demanding job that requires you to show up at full force every day. There are no excuses.”
He will be cooking with head chef Nicolas Romero and the restaurant’s pastry chef Courtney Moissin until December 31st.