About Chef Michael
Michael Hutchings is a chef who has paid his dues. Like many other American chefs, he took a job in a restaurant to work his way through college. An accomplished flutist, he planned a musical career. But in the kitchen of Disneyland at the fabled private Club 33, he was taught by the Black Hat Master Chef Rudolph Stoy and his priorities changed. Michael Hutchings eventually became executive chef of Club 33 then worked under several Los Angeles chefs including James Sly at La Serre (now the owner of Sly's in Carpinteria), and Jean Grodin, executive chef of L'Orangerie, Los Angeles.
The
chef/owner of L'Ermitage, Jean Bertranou, suggested Michael
Hutchings go to London to work at Le Gavroche under the Roux
Brothers. In 1978, Michael Hutchings, along with his wife and
eight month old child, and modest savings, went to London to
work at Le Gavroche. The Roux brothers were so impressed with
his seriousness and ability that after only a few months they
promoted him to sous-chef and told him that when he was ready
for a restaurant in the United States they would back him financially
in a partnership. Three years later, following brief stages
in the kitchens of Alain Chapel, the Troisgros brothers and
Gaston Lenotre, he was ready.
The result was Michael's Waterside in Santa Barbara. During ten years of operation, Michael's Waterside was recognized as a leader in contemporary California-French cuisine. After selling the Waterside in 1993, Chef Michael Hutchings hung his toque at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, NationsBank executive dining room, the Tower Club in Charlotte, Kaiser Grill and St. James in Palm Springs. Now, Chef Michael oversees a food consulting and service business in Santa Barbara, California.
Career Highlights
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Media/Press Credits
AAA Guide ABC News Bon Appetit Magazine California Food--Chefs of America Carpinteria Magazine Celebrity Society Magazine Chocolatiere magazine CNN News Dessert Weekly Destinations of Southern California Dessert Weekly Dinner at Julia's, PBS Dynasty Award Disneylander Epicurean Rendezvous Guide Fine Dining Magazine Food and Wine Magazine Forbes Magazine Gastronome Gault et Millaut Guide Gourmet Magazine Hollywood Reporter Independent International Herald Tribune, Paris KCET Magazine LA Style Le Matin, France Los Angeles Herald Examiner Los Angeles Magazine Los Angeles Time Mobile Travel Guide Montecito Life Nation's Restaurant News Santa Barbara News and Review Nippon Television Network, Japan News Chronicle |
New York Times Montecito Journal Ochsner Guide To The World's Finest Restaurants Orange Coast Magazine PC Magazine People Magazine San Diego Tribune Santa Barbara Restaurant Guide Santa Barbaran Santa Barbara Magazine Santa Barbara News Press Santa Barbara Polo Magazine Santa Maria Times Stardust Productions Tastes Magazine The Beverly Hills Courier The B'nai Brith The Christian Science Monitor The Desert Sun The Food Professional's Guide The Major Guide The Press-Courier The Restaurant Magazine This Week in Santa Barbara Time Magazine Travel Holiday Award Travel and Leisure United Airlines In-flight Magazine View From The Vineyards Welt An Sonntag, Germany Westways Magazine Who's Who In California Women's Wear Daily Zagat Restaurant Guide |
