SAN FRANCISCO
Few people are as committed to farm-to-table cooking as chef Kim Alter, owner of Nightbird, a sedate and casual 25-seat restaurant that offers a seasonal tasting menu featuring some of the most sustainably sourced food in the city. Whether you’re enjoying her signature quail’s egg with fried leeks and hollandaise, the house-made bread or any of the other constantly evolving creative spins on classic dishes, an evening at owl-themed Nightbird is an event created by folks with the utmost respect and care for ingredients. The sincerity of this project, combined with flawless execution has not gone unnoticed—like picking up a three-star review in the San Francisco Chronicle right after opening and numerous accolades since.
INCLUDED IN THE FEAST
Nightbird
KIM ALTER
James Beard Award-nominated chef Kim Alter is one of the most influential figures in North American cuisine today, thanks to her close relationships with farmers and ardent support for sustainable and humane agriculture. Between daily trips to the markets and frequent visits to the farms themselves, Alter is practically obsessive about locavorism and sourcing the highest-quality fresh ingredients. That’s won her a loyal following and, in 2019, the Star Chefs Sustainable Chef of the Year Award. When not working with food, Alter’s apparently boundless energy is spent working with San Francisco’s New Deal to feed people experiencing food insecurity and serving as board member of La Cocina, a non-profit devoted to addressing equity issues in business ownership for women, immigrants and people of color.
STAR CHEF
Rising Star Chef For Sustainability
JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION
JBF Finalist Best Chef West 2009-2020
WHY WE LOVE IT
Chef Kim Alter walks the walk. She knows her way around both a farm and a kitchen, employs whole animal butchery for lower-waste production, tries to source as many of her ingredients from women producers as possible and fosters a culture of inclusivity in her kitchen.
