For Douglas Rodrigues, cooking began as a means to an end and quickly became a lifelong pursuit. At fourteen, he took his first restaurant job flipping burgers at Bergson’s, a local diner chain, to fund his love of skateboarding. But evenings spent watching Julia Child cook with his mother lit a spark that drew him toward the world of fine dining. After early stints at South Shore favorites like Tosca in Hingham and Saporito’s Florence Club Café in Hull, Rodrigues’ curiosity, and a well-timed cold call, landed him a spot at Ken Oringer’s Clio in 2006.

There, he entered an entirely new realm of cooking: a kitchen where precision and creativity ruled, and every ingredient was treated with its own globally influenced technique. Immersed in the discipline and innovation of Clio’s fine-dining culture, Rodrigues absorbed the interplay of French, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Southeast Asian flavors that would later define his style. In 2009, he joined Michelin-starred chef Guy Martin to open Sensing in Boston, before returning to Clio as Sous Chef and quickly rising to Chef de Cuisine, crafting original dishes and helping to lead one of the city’s most respected kitchens.

A South Shore native, Rodrigues later brought his talents home, contributing to the revamp of the Winsor House in Duxbury, cooking at The Tip Tap Room, and helming the kitchens at Liquid Art House and North Square Oyster, where he focused on New England seafood.

Today, at Osteria Vivo and its sister restaurant Salt Marsh Winery in Scituate, Rodrigues comes full circle, marrying refined technique with the coastal flavors and seasonal bounty. When he’s not in the kitchen, he can often be found fishing in Scituate’s inlets or spending time on his grandfather’s farm, where his passion for local ingredients first took root.