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Look At The Cook: Paul Albrecht
By Mark Rogers
 Chef Paul Albrecht with his sons and partners Chris, left, and Patrick.(Photo by LeAnn Shaw)
For Mark Roger's review of Paul's, visit the IN The Loop blog.
In late November 2005, Paul Albrecht – the Paul behind the wildly popular Pano and Paul’s restaurant in Buckhead – opened the twelfth restaurant of his career. Located in Peachtree Hills in Buckhead, it is fittingly called Paul’s Restaurant-Bar-Sushi.
After 15 years of work in several of the world’s four-star restaurants, Albrecht came to Atlanta in 1979. At the dawn of the 1980s, Pano and Paul’s offered Atlanta guests accessible Continental cuisine in a hip, art-deco setting. His is a vision of sustainable artistry.
Albrecht was born in Czechoslovakia, where his family was in the wine business. They were forced to leave Czechoslovakia after World War II and emigrated to Germany. He entered the Hotel and Restaurant School in Munich in his teens.
Albrecht thinks he was the first in Atlanta to employ edible flowers in his cuisine. Additionally, he is proud to have delighted his customers by pioneering the practice of flying in fresh mushrooms from California as well as seafood from all over the globe. Another component to the Paul’s success was Albrecht’s longtime friendship with business partner, Pano Karatassos, whose ever-expanding devotion to customer satisfaction made Pano and Paul’s the city’s top restaurant by the mid-1980s. Today, it endures as a dining and entertaining destination.
By 2000, Albrecht and Karatassos’ Buckhead Life Restaurant Group had 10 restaurants in its portfolio – with a reported net worth of $55.5 million. The group featured such well-regarded restaurants as 103 West, The Atlanta Fish Market, The Buckhead Diner, and Kyma, to name a few.
That year, thinking about a new market to develop, Albrecht cut ties with the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group. He opened a solo restaurant enterprise in the Florida panhandle. Albrecht, however, never cut ties from Atlanta – his four children were of school age, and he and his wife kept a home here.
He returned to Atlanta in 2002 as chef/managing partner at Spice in Midtown.
Do you have a philosophy of cooking?
[It] is not just a job, it is a part of life. I have fun and am relaxed in a kitchen.
Do you have a hobby?
I adopted a healthier lifestyle about 10 years ago and am an avid tennis player.
Is there a dish you’ve been served that has stayed in your memory?
An Apple Tart Tatin at L’Orangerie in Los Angeles... The crust was perfect with an almond filling and Calvados ice cream. I don’t even know who made it.
Do you have a guilty food pleasure?
Fried calamari, fried green tomatoes.
Favorite food markets?
Whole Foods.
Do you have a favorite cooking technique?
Sauté.
Favorite home-cooked meal?
A simple roast chicken with mashed potatoes.
Is there a restaurant you like to visit?
Nan.
Do you have any thoughts on food trends?
The trendy stuff never lasts [and] people can get carried away with the cutting edge.
What’s your favorite cooking gadget?
A mandolin [a tool that makes precise, consistent, razor-thin slices meats, fruits, vegetables, cheeses].
What are some vegetables you love?
Salsify [oyster root] or white asparagus... cardoons braised with Madeira sauce served with marrow.
Your favorite fish dish?
Loup de Mer with citrus caper relish and chili oil...[also] a nice braised Dover sole.
Favorite cut of meat?
Roasted ribeye steak with an herb salt crust.
Paul’s Restaurant-Bar-Sushi
10 Kings Cir., (404) 231-4113,
www.thechefpaul.com
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