Summer 2023

A t Patria in Salinas, Chef Paulo Kautz has created a bistro-like ambiance with European influenced dishes that take advan- tage of fresh local ingredients. In a cheerful space in revamped Oldtown Salinas, Kautz has found a following developed after years of gaining loyal customers from his former restaurants, both of them hits that he has since sold: Taste in Pacific Grove and Café Rustica in Carmel Valley. Hand-crafted pizzas, pastas, farm plates, appetizers and desserts are all served with the same loving attention to detail and inspired delivery. Even a cup of tea is presented on a lovely silver service with doilies, ele- vating the already excellent experience. Q: Where did you grow up and how did you decide to become a chef? A: My father was wounded in World War II…There were four of us siblings so when you grow up with six of us, there was not much money, so we basically grew up as vegetarians, because we ate what he planted in the garden…I wanted to be an electrician or a car mechanic, but that didn’t work out and I became a chef. I worked in a little restaurant called Hotel Ruf in the Black Forest of Germany serving French food. I did three years of training there, and then I went over to the culinary school…then, after I passed my exam, I went to Switzerland and worked [in restaurants] there on the French side, then I went to South Africa. They were short of chefs, so I brought my knowledge to them…later I traveled all over Europe, including working at a restaurant in London. Q: How did your career transition to the United States? A: I started off inWashington, D.C., at the Old Europe restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue, then I came to San Francisco. I worked at the St. Francis Hotel on Union Square for a couple of years, and then we opened Parc 55 and next I worked at the Sheraton Palace for several more years. Later I worked in Orange County at the Hilton Irvine. My profession was really as a fine dining chef. Q: What do you think you got out of working at these different places? A: I stick to my basic classical French cuisine that I learned, then I added some German, some Californian, some English [influences]. Q: You are well known in the area for having food and hospitality that appeals to so many different people, and have received multiple positive write-ups, loyal customers and awards for Taste (opened in 1989), Café Rustica (opened in 2000), and now Patria. It always feels like a family atmosphere when you are interacting with your diners. A: It does to me too…After a few years running a wine bar in Cambria, I opened Patria in 2014. My neighbor, Gloria Magdirila, owns the building and was a partner…the menu has changed since the pan- demic, and currently is not featuring items like veal and rabbit, but we are slowly building it back up. Q: The current menu has so many offerings, including the house cured Mediterranean olives, the soup of the day, multiple fresh salads, pizzas, pastas like the butternut squash ravioli and the spinach ricotta cheese gnocchi. The farm plates like the mushroom risotto, eggplant strata, whole roasted cauliflower, beef goulash, grilled salmon, diver scal- lops, and filet mignon are just a handful of items you offer. Also, the many wines and cocktails, along with the scrumptious desserts like the pear strudel, triple chocolate mousse, crème brulée and root beer float are so tempting. What are some of your customers’ favorite dishes? A: The Jaeger Schnitzel is one of the winners; for the appetizers, the assortment of gourmet meats, the gigantes bean salad with prawns and the Monterey Bay calamari are favorites. For salads, the European salad, the beet salad and the romaine. For the pizzas, the caramelized onion pizza, the chicken chile verde and roasted red pep- Chef Paulo Kautz Serves Comfort Food at Patria Per sonal ized Ser vice from an Exper ienced Restaur ateur B Y B R E T T WI L BUR “My father was wounded in World War II…There were four of us siblings so when you grow up with six of us, there was not much money, so we basically grew up as vegetarians, because we ate what he planted in the garden…” 188 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 3