Chef de Cuisine Clint Davies began his culinary career in his hometown of Tauranga, New Zealand, focusing on Pacific Rim cuisine with famed Australian Chef Luke Mangan at White Restaurant. Davies was inspired by Mangan to explore other cuisines and after White, he spent the next few years working in restaurants in Scotland, Switzerland and Paris. “Traveling, eating and working my way through Europe was definitely an eye opener and taught me a great deal of new skills I could never have learned elsewhere,” said Davies. “I think it’s important for a chef’s success to travel and, if not work, at least taste the authentic cuisines of other countries.”

San Francisco was the next stop for Davies, where he first worked at the Campton Place Hotel under Chef Daniel Humm in the height of Humm’s San Francisco career. He then joined the Lark Creek Restaurant Group in 2005 as a sous chef at One Market Restaurant, enticed by the draw of working with Chef Mark Dommen. He spent three years in the position and was a contributive member of the culinary team when One Market was honored with a Michelin Star. In 2008, Davies was presented the opportunity to work once more with Chef Mangan, this time in Tokyo, Japan at Salt Restaurant. “It was difficult to move onto the next step of my career when I finally found a chef that I worked so well with. It is very rare to find someone whose culinary ideas mesh so well with your own,” Davies said of Chef Dommen. Davies was at Salt Restaurant for one year, where he learned the complex art of using Japanese ingredients and techniques.

Upon returning to the Bay Area in 2009, Davies was asked to join the Lark Creek Restaurant group again as the sous chef at The Tavern at Lark Creek. Within a few months, Davies was promoted to co-chef de cuisine, along with Aaron Wright. They work together to create a seasonally-driven, value-oriented menu focusing on farm-fresh ingredients.

“My extensive travels and experiences working at restaurants around the world have offered a unique perspective to the menu we create at The Tavern,” Davies explains. “I returned to the Lark Creek Restaurant Group because its philosophy about ingredients, sustainability and cuisine align with my own.”

In his spare time, Davies enjoys cooking for the charitable underground dining club Graffeats Guerrilla Dining, which supports local, sustainable producers and includes live artistic performances.

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