Robert Kinkead (June 1, 1952 – December 15, 2019), known as Bob, was an American chef and

restaurateur A restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspe ...

based in

Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

He was best known for his eponymous seafood restaurant Kinkead's, which operated from 1993 to 2012 and earned Kinkead the 1995

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

for best American chef in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Early life

Kinkead was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

, and grew up in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

, where he was one of ten siblings; his brother David also grew up to be a chef. Bob Kinkead studied psychology at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

, though he came short of graduating until 2004 when the university conferred the degree by counting his new cookbook as a final paper.

Career

Kinkead pursued a culinary career and worked in several restaurants in

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

before becoming head chef and part-owner of 21 Federal in

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...

. In 1987, he opened a sister restaurant, also named 21 Federal, in downtown

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

This restaurant closed in early 1993 after filing for bankruptcy. In October 1993, he opened his eponymous restaurant in D.C’s

Foggy Bottom Foggy Bottom is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States, located in the city's northwest quadrant. It stretches west of the White House towards the Potomac River, north of the National Mall, east of Georgetown, south of the West ...

neighborhood: Kinkead's, an American Brasserie. The restaurant was well-reviewed and was named to ''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under the guidance of ...

s list of the 25 best new restaurants in America. In 1995, Kinkead won the

for best American chef in the Mid-Atlantic Region. In 2005, Kinkead published a cookbook, ''Kinkead's Cookbook: Recipes From Washington D.C.’s Premier Seafood Restaurant''. Kinkead was known for mentoring many notable chefs in Washington, D.C., including Logan Cox, Jeff Black, Tracy O'Grady, Brendan L'Etoile, and Ris Lacoste. Kinkead's eponymous restaurant closed in December 2012. Kinkead also owned Hell Point Seafood in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...

and Colvin Run Tavern in

Vienna, Virginia Vienna () is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Vienna has a population of 16,473. Significantly more people live in ZIP codes with the Vienna postal addresses (22180, 22181, ...

, both of which were closed before Kinkead's. In 2004, Kinkead opened Sibling Rivalry in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

with his brother, David; the restaurant closed in 2013. In 2013, Kinkead opened a pop-up restaurant, Ancora, in the

Watergate complex The Watergate complex is a group of six buildings in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., United States. The complex includes a development of Housing cooperative, cooperative apartment residences. It also includes a hotel and an o ...

. Ancora closed in 2014, and Kinkead opened a more casual restaurant, Campono, next door. In 2016, Kinkead received the Duke Zeibert Capital Achievement Award from the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington.

Personal life

Kinkead retired with his wife, Dianne, to

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,547 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Ca ...

, where he died on December 15, 2019, of heart disease and diabetes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinkead, Robert 1952 births 2019 deaths Writers from Providence, Rhode Island People from Murrells Inlet, South Carolina University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Chefs from Massachusetts James Beard Foundation Award winners Chefs from Washington, D.C. Chefs from Rhode Island