4 Questions 4 David Kinch
Here’s what San Francisco Chronicle Restaurant Critic Michael Bauer says about David Kinch:Who would have thought that when he opened Manresa in Los Gatos six years ago that an American chef would have cooks from all over the world asking to learn in his state-of-the-art kitchen? Kinch, the protege of Barry Wine at the Quilted Giraffe in New York, uses heavy Spanish and European influences in his innovative menu that still has a California point of view. … the products are pristine; in fact he’s a partner in a biodynamic garden that produces much of the produce used in the restaurant.
Love Apple Farm continues to grow in size and to fine tune itself to the daily needs of the restaurant. As this has happened it has become the dominant factor in not only constructing the individual dishes, but the menu itself. We now allow what the garden gives us to design the menu. This has been very satisfying but also the single most challenging moment for us in the kitchen at the restaurant. I would think that some would find this daunting and perhaps a bit restrictive but personally it has opened up a new world on the possibilities of nature and how it can translate to a dish. Inspiration is now not a pad of paper and an order sheet from a produce company but a series of walks through the garden with Cynthia: tasting, picking, merely holding items in your hand and smelling them. What more could I want!
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4.Chefs often are asked about their favorite restaurant meals but I’m curious about some of your most disappointing dining experiences.
Expectations are the key to any dining experience and managing one’s own expectations is the key to pleasure in dining out.
If you buy into hype and expectations are too high, then you will be disappointed. I try to enjoy myself in all scenarios; I mean it is a combination of food, wine, service, ambiance, and, of course, the company one keeps.
For me, though, it is disappointing to see great product not be respected, by negligence or lack of care, by laziness. Great product is nurtured and cared for by hard work by thoughtful and passionate individuals; perhaps an animal made a noble, and the ultimate, sacrifice. The greatest tragedy is to waste such product and ruin it through poor skills or lack of focus.
Tags: David Kinch, Love Apple Farm, Manresa
Sunday, August 10th, 2008 at 1:53 pmand is filed under 4 Questions 4. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.


August 10th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
interesting as always! tokyo as the finest food city in the world – who knew?
August 18th, 2008 at 8:26 am
re #4: i am so hostile toward david chang and the overhypedness of the momofuku empire that i never, ever want to eat in any of his restaurants. and i want him to get a smackdown. and i don’t even know the guy. it honestly doesn’t matter how good the food is.there’s a fine line between playful/irreverent and “screw you” and judging from his interviews, he seems to me to cross it.
February 28th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Really great post, well written, concise and comprehensive. Thank you.
November 23rd, 2010 at 7:07 am
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