He began his career in New York City at the Hotel Parker Meridian, and later held an executive Chef position at La Petite Ferme.

After leaving the Quilted Giraffe, Kinch spent five months at Mount Eden Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California helping Jeffrey Patterson produce the 1988 Chardonnay vintage.

Kinch spent two more years in Europe with Dieter Müller at the two star restaurant Schweizer Stuben [de] in Wertheim, Germany; with Marc Meneau, at the three-star restaurant L'Esperance in St. Pere-sous-Vézeley, Burgundy, France; and at Pedro Subijana's Akelarre in San Sebastián, Spain.

[19] Kinch appeared as a guest judge along with award-winning sommelier Andre Mack on episode 4 (entitled "Daring Pairings") of season 1 of the ABC reality show The Taste, which aired on February 12, 2013.

[21] Together, Kinch and Hamilton share the 2016 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Culinary Host for their role on the program.

[22] A 2005 write-up in the London Observer, in which food critic Jay Rayner called his 26-course meal at Manresa his most memorable of 2004, started the international acclaim that transformed Kinch into one of the most celebrated chefs of his generation.