Paul Bauer

Are you a risk taker? Yes, sometimes. I try not to play it safe. I will definitely throw out some stuff on the menu that my normal guests don’t see and if it doesn’t sell I take it off. But I definitely try to open the eyes of my guests and get them to see new things and get them more involved in a new, contemporary style of cuisine.

When did food capture you? I was probably 19 or 20. I would mess around at home a little bit growing up but nothing where I knew “this is where I want to be.” I didn’t really see a career anywhere, but I always loved to cook at home. It was my wife that pushed me into going to school.So it wasn’t family-based? Absolutely not. She’s gonna kill me, but my mom can’t cook for shit. My grandparents cooked. My grandfather worked at the La Valencia Hotel in San Diego as a line cook and dish washer while he was working in the shipyard. It was just a job for him. I cooked at home because I needed to eat.

Is it true you shouldn’t eat seafood on Monday? I have never heard that before in my life [laughs]. Never. I get my seafood in fresh everyday. My purveyor is 5 minutes from the airport. They pick it up at 6 a.m. and deliver it to me around 2 or 3. They don’t have a plethora of fish stocked in a cooler.

What topic would you talk about if anyone would listen? Baseball! [He laughs.] I love baseball.  I love the Padres. Any sport from San Diego, really. I could talk baseball for hours.Do you find people listen when you talk baseball? No! People don’t care about baseball.

Do you ever lie about your wine knowledge? On interviews. I let my restaurant manger Chris field all the questions about wine. We have one of the best wine lists in California. We’ve won awards, Mr. [Clae] Andersen was a connoisseur of wines.If you had one last sip of wine what would you choose? ‘97 Opus. I like red wines that are very bold. At a wine dinner a few years back, I tasted Opus ‘97 and after a sip it was the best wine I ever had.

If you could be any chef today who would it be? Wow. I think José Andrés. He has The Bazaar in Hollywood.  He is a Spanish chef with several restaurants. He is a phenomenal chef and I don’t think he gets enough recondition. He’s kind of low key and not a big name like Keller, but he is a well-respected chef.What do you like best about Jose?His knowledge of cuisine in general and the way he can take, for example a Japanese item and make it into a Spanish dish.

If you had ten minutes with a top chef, what would you do? I would cook against him! Head to head. If i saw thomas Keller in the kitchen I would say ‘let’s go.’ Honestly, most likely I would probably lose, but I’m not afraid of a challenge at all. If i saw a top chef I would definitely cook against him, but I would also ask him questions. I would talk while cooking, I would probably talk a little shit to him as well. [He looks to his left.] ‘Chef, your onions are getting a little dark,’ or something like that.

Hidden tattoos? No! [A long pause] Mom’s gonna read this. [He laughs.] No!

Do you consider yourself a rockstar/celebrity? No. Absolutely not! I am the most humble person outside of the kitchen. Inside the kitchen I am probably the most arrogant fucker in the world. In the kitchen I am very confident, but when I’m outside these doors I’m very humbled by compliments. They still make me blush.