Alan McLennan, 35, executive chef at Cypress Club restaurant in San Francisco, has worked under four 3-star Michelin chef and has a wealth of experience as an international consulting chef for resorts and fine dining establishments throughout the world.
A native of South Africa, McLennan began his career in San Francisco as a cook at MASA'S in the Vintage Court Hotel, working under Chef Masataka Kobayashi who was renowned for applying Japanese aesthetics and California style to classic French cuisine.
Moving to London to cook at the famous Le Gavroche under Chef Albert Roux, McLennan found a passion for the rigorous pace of 3-star Michelin service, he further enhanced his culinary skills in France working for a season under 3-star Chef Michel Guerard, known for his low-fat cuisine minceur, in the lush Eugenie Les Bains spa in the Landes.
For the next three years, as associate partner Albert Roux's international consultancy, 'AHR', McLennan designed and planned kitchens, restaurants, and menus; trained staff; and upgraded the food and services of many establishments. Consultancy projects included luxury hotels throughout Europe and the Cable Beach Club in West Australia, where he expanded his repertoire extensively.
McLennan revisited London as one of half a dozen chefs invited to cook for the grand opening of Hanbury Manor, Hertfordshire, owned and operated by RockResort. Returning to France, McLennan worked two seasons as Executive Chef of the Hotel Diva, Isola 2000, in the French Alps. The French Press described his work as a marveloulsy creative interpretation of classic French cuisine.
McLennan moved back to United States in 1992 to become Executive Chef of Keswick Hall, a luxury resort outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. His combined inspiration from France's elegant Belle Epoque and Virginia's southern bounty emerged as a style both elegant and hearty. Town & CountryMagazine proclaimed, Dinner is a ceremony to savor under Chef McLennan.
Taking over as Executive Chef at the Pleasant Peasant restaurant in Philadelphia, McLennan delicately enhanced his dishes with flavors from America's deep south. The critics applauded his ample dashes of the unexpected and fresh, uncomplicated, full-flavored food.
Returning to San Francisco in late 1995 to become Executive Chef at Cypress Club, McLennan takes traditional French cuisine to new heights by reinventing the classics with intense flavors and lively presentations.
Our Proprietor John M . Cunin
John M. Cunin, 40, began his restaurant career in 1975. After graduating from the University of Dayton, he began a fateful apprenticeship in a French restaurant in Cincinnati. Developing an appreciation of French food and wine, and with an aptitude for the subtleties of fine dining service, he soon worked his way up to Dining Room Captain. For the next several years, Cunin worked in service and management positions in restaurants in Indianapolis, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Included in that time was a month-long visit to Europe where Cunin began what was to become a life-long appreciation of France.
In 1980, Cunin took his second tour of France, this time with six-week stint working in the legendary vineyards of Bordeaux and Cognac. The experience was to have a lasting effect. "I really developed an appreciation for the wine-making process", he says. "There is something almost mystical about harvesting grapes and their transformation into fine wine". When Cunin returned to the States, he settled in California's Wine Country.
From 1980 to 1983 Cunin worked as a captain and sommelier at Auberge du Soleil in the Napa Valley town of Rutherford. It was here that he first met Masa Kobayashi, the renowned chef who would later open one of San Francisco's finest restaurants, Masa's.
In 1983 Kobayashi teamed up with hotel/restaurant developer Bill Kimpton to open Masa's, and Cunin was recruited to head up the dining room as general manager of the restaurant and maitre d'Hotel of the dining room. Masa's remains today a world-class restaurant, and Cunin credits this association for his own success. "Masa had extraordinarily impeccable standards for food presentation and preparation", he says. "And I can think of no one who knows more about the business of developing fine restaurants than Bill Kimpton. I had the best mentors imaginable."
Cunin left Masa's in 1988 to marry and travel with his wife, Rene�. It was during this extended leave that he began developing the concept for an entirely unconventional fine dining house. The Cypress Club opened its doors on December 16, 1990, in the historical financial district of San Francisco. It was recognized for "Best Restaurant Design" by Interiors magazine in 1992.
On the way to achieving international recognition for interior design and an innovative regional American menu, Cunin has used the high-profile Cypress Club to springboard numerous philanthropic pursuits. In the past 12 months alone, the owner, staff and management have lent their facilities and talents to raise funds for Project Open Hand and the fight against AIDS, the "Share Our Strength" Taste of the Nation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, March of Dimes, Meals on Wheels, Leukemia Society of America, The San Francisco Wine Auction benefiting the Association for Retarded Citizens, the James Beard Foundation, and the Tenderloin Olympics, an event to benefit San Francisco youth groups and Larkin Street Youth Center. He has served on numerous boards and committees including active work with the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, North Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Anti-Defamation League. In January of 1993, Cunin was honored by the Association of Retarded Citizens for helping people with developmental disabilities through his ongoing contributions to the Association's annual wine auction. In June of 1994, he was honored at a dinner for the Anti-Defamation League for his involvement in charitable endeavors and community betterment projects.
Throughout all, the recognition and heightened awareness the Cypress Club has generated in its brief three-year history, the restaurant remains what Cunin originally conceived--a place to experience old San Francisco elements with a nineties architectural twist. Recognized as one of the top industry leaders in "front-of -the-house" service, Cunin sets a pace for his staff that is reflected in the restaurant's overwhelming success.
