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 largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

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 ...

. 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 The Walt Disney Concert Hall at 111 South Grand Avenue in downtown Los Angeles, California, is the fourth hall of the Los Angeles Music Center and was designed by Frank Gehry. It was opened on October 24, 2003. Bounded by Hope Street, Grand A ...

(formerly on Melrose Avenue), his chain of Pinot restaurants, and the Patina Restaurant Group.

Early life

Joachim Splichal was born and raised in

Spaichingen Spaichingen ( Swabian: ''Spoachenga'') is a town in the district of Tuttlingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated 11 kilometers northwest of Tuttlingen, and 13 km southeast of Rottweil. It is 660 meters above sea level. Populat ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. 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 tota ...

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 ...

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 t ...

, 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 ar ...

to start his culinary training, working as a saucier at La Bonne Auberge, a

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and ...

-starred restaurant in

Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes department of southeastern France, on the Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice. The town of Juan-les-Pins is in the commune of Antibes and the Sop ...

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 The Hotel Negresco is a hotel and site of the restaurant ''Le Chantecler'', located on the Promenade des Anglais on the Baie des Anges in Nice, France. It was named after Henri Negresco (1868–1920), who had the palatial hotel constructed in 19 ...

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

. 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 Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

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 entertai ...

'' 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 r ...

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 ten ...

. 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 popu ...

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 ...

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