He planted himself in the South Bay in
the mid-’90s when, he admits, the region
was a culinary backwater compared to the
buzzy eating scene to the north. What drew
him to this area was that “I found a place
that I could afford,” he says, after coming
up empty in pricey San Francisco, where
he had excelled as the hired executive chef
at various prestigious restaurants.
His first restaurant as an owner was Sent
Sovi in downtown Saratoga, a tiny bistro
serving ambrosial food that was packed
from the day it opened. Eight years later, in
2002, Kinch transitioned to larger, higherend
Manresa in Los Gatos, which happened
after an accidental meeting with owner-chef
Thomas Keller at the French Laundry when
Kinch went to fetch his forgotten wine bag
66 South Bay Accent
from the night before. Over coffee, Keller
urged him to purchase the building that
would hold Manresa, the restaurant that
eventually thrust Kinch into the cooking
stratosphere—eventually being the operative
word.
In the beginning, Manresa had several
recession-driven, rocky years. But after
Kinch began getting his produce from a
biodynamic farm in the nearby mountains,
which goosed his already abundant creativity,
his efforts at Manresa began to draw
notice from South Bay foodies, who now
had a local temple of cuisine that saved
them a long drive north. Soon, the accolades
began flowing in: first two Michelin
stars, then three, multiple James Beard
awards, top rankings from reviewers and
food writers and, best of all, attention from
discriminating diners from far outside the
region who made pilgrimages to consume
Kinch’s ethereal food.
As Kinch evolved his restaurant and his
cooking mindset, the South Bay’s restaurant
scene was following suit, accelerated by
being home to the only Michelin threestar
south of San Francisco. At this point,
Kinch has ticked all the boxes chefs lust
after: publishing a cookbook, “Manresa:
An Edible Reflection,” collaborating with
the world’s most renowned chefs, mentoring
young cooks at Manresa who have
later become stars in their own right, and
launching successful follow-on projects like
ManresaBread, now with three locations,
The Bywater in Los Gatos, a casual hom-
The South Bay
is a really interesting place
in terms of the restaurant
scene right now. There are a fair amount
of Michelin stars down here. There are
a lot of diverse restaurateurs and chefs.
It’s an exciting place to be.”
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: ERIC WOLFINGER (2); CHRIS SCHMAUCH (2)