About me
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.
Awards, Honors and Societies
Food & Wine's "Best New Chef" 2002
Additional Services
Private dining is available at Spruce. Contact Donna Nicoletti at (415) 931-5115 or [email protected]
United States Chef
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