Matthew Bousquet

Matthew Bousquet is a French-trained chef whose work centers on contemporary takes on Classic French dishes shaped by season, place, and technique. He grew up in Ohio and moved to San Francisco when he was young, then built a career around discipline in the kitchen and the judgment needed to update tradition without losing clarity. His approach is defined by restraint, richness where it serves the plate, and a focus on fundamentals such as sauce, balance, proportion, texture, and consistency.

Formal training at California Culinary Academy gave Bousquet the technical language that carried through his later kitchens. He has described his framework as seasonal cooking guided by what is available locally and grounded in basic Classic French techniques. Rather than reinventing French fare for its own sake, his cooking uses classical structure as a working system, allowing ingredients and timing to shape the final expression.

Bousquet owned and led Mirepoix in Sonoma, California until 2011, working in a food and wine landscape where season and setting are closely linked. There, he applied Classic French fare to California ingredients while keeping the cooking clear and disciplined. The restaurant received recognition during his tenure, including a Michelin star in 2010. In 2011, he became Executive Chef at Bistro Jeanty, continuing in a French idiom suited to his training.

He later served as Executive Chef at Keswick Hall until 2018, carrying the same emphasis on structure and refinement into another hospitality setting. Since 2018, Bousquet has served as Executive Chef at 1799 Restaurant at The Clifton, where contemporary takes on Classic French dishes remain central. He is also VP of Culinary of Chef Society. At 1799 Restaurant at The Clifton, the work continues to respond to the pace and produce of the surrounding region, with seasonality treated as both opportunity and constraint.

Dishes such as Pancetta Wrapped Trout, served with roasted potatoes, spicy paprika, sauce vierge, and peanut garlic gremolata crumb, show his method in practice. The plate keeps a French structure while assigning each component a clear role, from savory depth and grounding to brightness and texture. Other named dishes, including Bone marrow escargot and Kunz short rib, reflect the same kitchen language: French reference points handled with controlled richness and clear structure.

Across his career, from Ohio to San Francisco, from California Culinary Academy to Sonoma, and from Mirepoix and Bistro Jeanty to Keswick Hall and 1799 Restaurant at The Clifton, Bousquet has remained committed to Classic French cooking updated through ingredients, season, and setting.