Nationally recognized as the chef of the renowned SPQR in San Francisco, California, (a Michelin-starred restaurant from 2013 through 2015), Matthew Accarrino has been a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Awards Best Chef: West and Food & Wine’s Best New Chef of 2014.
Born in the Midwest and raised on the east coast, he moved west to California in 2007. His unique culinary style draws inspiration from his Italian heritage, personal experiences and classical training with some of America’s best chefs. Coupled with the embrace of the bounty of opportunities California ingredients present and a strong belief in direct sourcing, producing, even playing a role in the creation of his own ingredients, the results have been an intensely personal cuisine that is both technically polished and soulful.
It’s a cuisine that has garnered praise from publications such as Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, Saveur, The Wall Street Journal, Food Arts, Plate, The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, 7X7 and SF Magazine.
Under his direction, SPQR was recognized with a Michelin star in the 2013 and 2014 guides. Since his arrival there, Accarrino has been named Star Chefs “2010 Rising Star” for his “innovative vision, finesse, and deeply satisfying cuisine,” and in 2011 he took top honors at San Francisco’s Cochon 555 competition.
Accarrino has been nominated three consecutive times by the James Beard Foundation as a semi-finalist for “Best Chef: West.” Food & Wine Magazine named him “People’s Best Chef California” in 2013 and editorially selected him for the prestigious “Best New Chef” award in 2014. He is also the co-author of SPQR: Modern Italian Food and Wine.