A rising star on the west coast culinary scene, Peter McNee
– who possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics – honed his
skills in some of the Bay Area’s top restaurants. Before cultivating
his fondness for Italian cooking in Tuscany, the young chef ‘s culinary
trajectory took flight at the famed San Francisco restaurant Stars,
where he cooked while attending the California Culinary Academy in
1999. There, he moved up the ranks – garnering extensive knowledge of
local produce along the way, knowledge he would refine in a subsequent
role as Sous Chef at Tra Vigne Restaurant in St. Helena. While at Tra
Vigne, Peter’s interest in Italian cuisine peaked, inspiring him to
self-sponsor a yearlong culinary pilgrimage to Italy in 2003. While
cooking and wine pairing in the acclaimed regions of Toscana and
Lombardia, Peter began turning his burgeoning passion into a quest for
mastery in the art of Italian cooking.
Upon returning from Italy, Peter joined Poggio
in the position of Sous Chef and helped launch the enormously
successful opening that established Poggio as one of the Bay Area’s top
restaurants. Peter then left briefly to gain chef experience in the
hotel industry at Bacchus Restaurant in Sonoma County, before returning
as Poggio’s Chef de Cuisine and assuming the role of Executive Chef in
April 2006.
This year, for the first time, Poggio sent Peter
McNee to Italy to hand-select this season's white truffles for their
restaurant. They held their 2nd Annual "5 Nights of White Truffles"
event on November 15-19, in honor of Italy's Festa del Tartufo.