Matthew Bousquet

Coming Up

Formal kitchen training at California Culinary Academy gave Matthew Bousquet the technical language that would carry through his later rooms. The through-line is not reinvention for its own sake, but the steady use of Classic French technique as a working system: sauces, balance, proportion, and consistency under service conditions. Restaurant ownership in Sonoma, California put that system into a food-and-wine landscape where season and setting are difficult to separate. As owner and chef at Mirepoix until 2011, Bousquet worked within Classic French fare while using the immediacy of California ingredients; the restaurant’s recognition came without moving the cooking away from clarity. French bistro cooking requires fluency as much as polish. In 2011, Bousquet became Executive Chef at Bistro Jeanty, continuing in a French idiom suited to his training. He later led the kitchen as Executive Chef at Keswick Hall until 2018, carrying the same emphasis on structure and refinement into another hospitality setting. Current kitchen leadership at 1799 Restaurant at The Clifton continues that line of work. Since 2018, Bousquet has been Executive Chef there, and he is also VP of Culinary of Chef Society. The roles keep the cooking tied to classical foundations while responding to the pace and produce of the place around him.

Where They Are Now

A four-season region gives a kitchen a calendar, not just a backdrop. For a French-trained cook, that means anticipation, short windows of abundance, and the discipline to let each part of the year set limits as well as opportunities. At 1799 Restaurant at The Clifton, contemporary takes on Classic French dishes remain the central form. The cooking is built around fundamentals rather than novelty: sauce work, balance, texture, proportion, and the use of seasonality as a practical constraint. Pancetta Wrapped Trout, served with roasted potatoes, spicy paprika, sauce vierge, and peanut garlic gremolata crumb, shows the method in concrete terms. The plate keeps a French structure while assigning each component a clear job: pancetta for savory depth, trout as the center, roasted potatoes for grounding, spicy paprika for warmth, sauce vierge for brightness, and peanut garlic gremolata crumb for texture. The vocabulary has stayed consistent across the career: Classic French fare updated through ingredients, season, and setting. In Bousquet’s work, that line runs from Ohio to San Francisco, from California Culinary Academy to Sonoma, California, from Mirepoix and Bistro Jeanty to Keswick Hall and now 1799 Restaurant at The Clifton.

Signature

The named dishes — Bone marrow escargot, Pancetta Wrapped Trout, and Kunz short rib — point to a kitchen working from French reference points with controlled richness and clear structure. Matthew Bousquet’s range sits in that handling: comfort treated with precision, and depth balanced against the needs of the plate.

In Their Words “It’s seasonal based on what we have here, but using basic Classic French techniques.”

Honors

Recognition for the work includes Michelin star for Mirepoix (2010).