Michael Tusk

Michael Tusk and his wife, Lindsay, are the owners of three of San Francisco’s most critically-acclaimed and beloved restaurants: Quince, Cotogna and Verjus. Chef Tusk’s approach to Italian and French regional cuisine is refined and modern, taking inspiration from the seasonal bounty of Northern California and his relationships with local purveyors.

A native of New Jersey, Tusk graduated from Tulane University with a degree in Art History before studying at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. After graduating, Tusk decamped to Europe where he worked in Michelin-starred kitchens in France and Northern Italy.

Tusk returned to the United States in 1988 and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area where he worked at some of the country’s most pioneering and influential restaurants including Stars, Chez Panisse and Oliveto. In 2003, the Tusks opened Quince in Lower Pacific Heights and the restaurant quickly became one of San Francisco’s top fine-dining destinations. In 2009, they relocated Quince to a historic 1907 brick and timber building in Jackson Square. In its new home, Quince has been awarded four stars by the San Francisco Chronicle, three stars from the Michelin Guide and is a distinguished member of Relais & Châteaux.

In 2010, Michael and Lindsay opened Cotogna, a bustling, rustic Italian restaurant adjacent to Quince. In 2018, they opened Verjus, a wine bar in the style of Paris’s caves à manger. Verjus was recognized by Bon Apéttit and the James Beard Foundation as one of the best new restaurants in the country.

In 2020, the Tusks founded Feed the Future, a non-profit organization whose mission is to support their restaurant teams and local farmers in the wake of the coronavirus.