Bill Russell-Shapiro, Proprietor
Eric Vreede, Development and Operations Manager/Wine Director
Adam Keough, Executive Chef
Bill Corbett, Executive Pastry Chef
Vanessa Harris, Director of Events and Marketing
Justin Jensick, General Manager
Ian Becker, Wine Manager and Buyer
Aaron Wasserman, Sommelier

Adam Keough, Executive Chef

A Boston native, Adam Keough’s passion for the culinary arts was fueled at a young age by cooking with his grandparents at family holiday gatherings. He is influenced by the culinary simplicity of his Boston roots and plans to incorporate that basic approach to food, with techniques and philosophies learned through his years in fine dining, to the brasserie fare he will offer at Absinthe as Executive Chef.

At the age of 16 he landed his first job at a local South Boston restaurant, and four years later he enrolled at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. After honing his skills through an externship at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, he began his professional career as junior sous-chef under award-winning Chef Anthony Ambrose at his restaurant, Ambrosia on Huntington, considered one of the best restaurants in Boston. After a year, he was promoted to chef-de-cuisine and began to adopt his own culinary style.

Keough went on to work under Joshua Skenes at Chez TJ in Los Gatos, California, before joining Michael Mina and the Mina Restaurant Group as the Interim Chef at Arcadia in San Jose, California. In February 2006, the 28-year-old chef opened Stonehill Tavern for Mina at the St.Regis Resort, Monarch Beach in Dana Point, California, as executive sous-chef to much success. He was promoted to executive chef shortly after. While he was there, the restaurant received 3 stars from Irene Virbila at the Los Angeles Times, and Keough was named “Best New Chef of Orange County” by Riviera magazine in 2007. He was also a two-time James Beard Foundation semifinalist for national “Rising-Star Chef of the Year,” in 2007 and 2008.

His experience brings a high level of creativity to Absinthe and Arlequin Café’s menus. In addition to updating the lunch and dinner menus at the restaurant, Keough also has plans to refresh the bar menu, with snacks to appeal to the mid-afternoon and late-night dining scenes. He also has plans for a Roast of the Day for Absinthe’s signature weekend brunch.

Keough lives in San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood, and when not at Absinthe enjoys shopping the markets of Chinatown, cooking at home with his girlfriend, and exploring the Bay Area.

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