John Clark

The Climb

At Zuni Café, John Clark picked up the foundation for the way he cooks now: discipline, attention, and a point of view built through the work itself. That grounding carried into Foreign Cinema, where he has served as chef/co-owner since 1999. In that role, seasonality and hospitality have remained tied to the same brief: keep the room moving, keep the menu responsive, and let the restaurant resist routine. The Foreign Cinema Cookbook, published since 2018, extends that line of work off the line and onto the page. The book holds the same priorities as the restaurant kitchen—careful sourcing, balance, and food that stays close to the moment in which it’s made.

Today

As chef/co-owner, John Clark runs a kitchen that starts over each day. The menu follows availability, not habit, and that choice keeps Foreign Cinema’s identity tied to the market. In practice, California-Mediterranean cooking becomes flexible rather than fixed, with flavor, nourishment, and ingredient selection carrying equal weight. That daily change is the restaurant’s operating method, not a decorative gesture. It gives returning guests a different arrangement each night—new textures, colors, and combinations instead of a repeat of the previous service. The hospitality is built around that shift, and around the feeling of an evening slightly set apart from the rest of the day. Clark’s work as a cookbook author carries the same approach beyond service. The Foreign Cinema Cookbook gives shape to the restaurant’s seasonality, sustainability, and sense of transport while keeping the point of view anchored in San Francisco.

Signature

John's signature dishes include Champagne Omelet, Persian Bloody Mary, and Lavender Baked Goat Cheese in Fig Leaves.

In Their Words “We strive to create a 90 minute vacation for all of our guests.” “At Foreign Cinema we change our menu daily.”

Recognition

The recognition attached to John Clark is less about a single peak than about duration: a menu-making practice that has stayed legible over time, and a restaurant identity defined by change rather than repetition. The Foreign Cinema Cookbook gives that approach a durable form. It allows the kitchen’s sensibility to be revisited outside the dining room without losing the discipline that shaped it.