Joachim Splichal is a

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. In 1991, he was declared "Best California Chef" by the

James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is a New York City-based national non-profit culinary arts organization named in honor of James Beard, a prolific food writer, teacher, and cookbook author, who was also known as the "Dean of American Cookery." The prog ...

. Four years later in 1995, he was inducted into their "Who's Who of Food & Beverage in America". Splichal is best known for his fine dining restaurant Patina located in the Walt Disney Concert Hall (formerly on Melrose Avenue), his chain of Pinot restaurants, and the Patina Restaurant Group.

Early life

Joachim Splichal was born and raised in Spaichingen,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. At age 18, he began in the hotel industry, working at leading hotels in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, Sweden,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, and Switzerland. In his early twenties, he moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to start his culinary training, working as a saucier at La Bonne Auberge, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Antibes in southeastern

. At age 23, Splichal was hired as a sous chef by Jacques Maximin to work at the Chantecler restaurant in the Hotel Negresco in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

. Maximin became Splichal's mentor and during this period he began to win many culinary awards, including the "Youngest and Most Creative Chef" title from the Cercle Epicurean Society.

Culinary experience in the U.S.

Splichal moved to the United States in 1981 to serve as Executive Chef at the Regency Club in

. In the years that followed, he worked at the Seventh Street Bistro and began Max Au Triangle. Splichal opened Patina in 1989 in Hollywood with his wife Christine, an international business expert. Patina relocated to the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2003. Since 1994, the restaurant has been the recipient of the ''

Wine Spectator ''Wine Spectator'' is an American lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture, and gives out ratings to certain types of wine. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertain ...

'' Grand Award.

Food

Splichal's specialties are

French cuisine French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the re ...

and

California Cuisine California cuisine is a food movement that originated in California. The cuisine focuses on dishes that are driven by local and sustainable ingredients with an attention to seasonality and an emphasis on the bounty of the region. The food is hi ...

. Menu items at Patina include grilled hamachi belly, "minute poached" live spot prawn, and New York

strip steak The strip steak (sirloin in Britain, Australia, and South Africa) is a cut of beef steaks from the short loin of a cow. It consists of a muscle that does little work, the longissimus, making the meat particularly tender, although not as tend ...

. Splichal's Pinot brand of restaurants offer signature dishes such as rosemary marinated quail,

Arctic char The Arctic char or Arctic charr (''Salvelinus alpinus'') is a cold-water fish in the family Salmonidae, native to alpine lakes and arctic and subarctic coastal waters. Its distribution is Circumpolar North. It spawns in freshwater and populat ...

with braised celery root, and Piemontese

tortelloni ''Tortelloni'' are a stuffed pasta common in Northern Italy, with a shape similar to tortellini, but larger and with the extremities closed differently. They are traditionally stuffed with ricotta cheese and leafy herbs or vegetables such as p ...

References

External links

Patina Group
Year of birth missing (living people) Living people German chefs German emigrants to the United States James Beard Foundation Award winners {{Chef-bio-stub