Chef Mark Cina brings a local sensibility backed by years working in award-winning kitchens to the kitchens of Alcove in the West End and its sister restaurant, Hook + Line, in the Seaport.

A native of Cape Cod and Needham, Cina started his career in Boston, working with award winning chefs like Tony Maws at Craigie Street Bistrot and Susan Regis at UpStairs at the Pudding, before moving to California to help his brother open District Wine Bars – an intense and inspiring experience of wine, charcuterie and hospitality.

On the West Coast, he met Chef Corey Lee while staging at his three Michelin starred restaurant, Benu, and subsequently joined the opening team of Lee’s next restaurant, Monsieur Benjamin.

Cina went on to help open the award-winning Scopo diVino Wine Bar in San Francisco where the year-round access to farm-fresh produce, intense wine education, exceptional standards in technique and teamwork and the challenge of creating new tasting menus inspired him to keep cooking, learning and tasting.

He ran Chef Daniel Patterson’s renowned Alta restaurant as Chef de Cuisine before returning to Boston to take the helm at Yvonne’s Supper Club.

Then it was off to Italy for a two-month backpack culinary adventure, traveling, eating and cooking his way through Florence, Rome, Calabria and Sicily before heading to Madrid and Paris. Each stop along the way inspired Cina to new heights. He returned to New England and headed to Nantucket to cook with Chef Gabriel Frasca at Straight Wharf.

In his new role overseeing culinary operations at both of Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli’s restaurants (and Hook + Line’s adjacent shop, H+L Market), Cina looks forward to creating memorable, meaningful and delicious hospitality experiences.