Pascal Olhats, our Chef/Restaurateur of the Year, is a unique culinary force.
He recently closed of his original restaurant, Tradition by Pascal in Newport Beach, and yet continues to be a big name among chefs and diners through his other ventures.
The reason is simple: Since his arrival here from France in 1983, Pascal has enlightened us about lovable French food, and he is still having an eloquent affair with fine food, gracious hospitality and an impressive sense of community and fundraising.
Pascal has donated more than $1 million worth of his time, talent and resources to countless Southern California charities during the past 25 years. It’s also important to note that a number of chefs at some of the finest restaurants earned their stripes by learning from Pascal when they worked with him.
Early Days
I met Pascal only a year after he came to America. Within weeks I wrote an article about his food that mentally transported me back to France and so much of what I had experienced there. I learned later that he’d been honing this passion since he was a mere child. I have written many articles about him over the years, because he has just kept on fascinating the dining public with his soulful food. And he’s remained a chef who interacts with his customers because he really cares.
Pascal grew up in Normandy and loved being in the kitchen with his mother, who had a keen sense of hospitality and generosity and loved having family and friends in the house to share meals.
The family suffered through World War II, and perhaps because of that, she and other members of Pascal’s family placed a high value on available ingredients and not wasting food. This resulted in a kitchen filled with innovation.
Though they were forced to cook within the limitations and restrictions of wartime rations, the family grew its own vegetables, foraged for mushrooms, and Pascal, his father and brother all brought home fresh seafood and seasonal game, which gave them delicious meals. Pascal’s mother had a lifelong love of cooking, and she nurtured Pascal’s great respect for freshness and quality.
Joie de Vivre
She also taught her son how to enjoy the joie de vivre of the process and the resulting meal. It’s a philosophy that runs through his restaurants today.
His establishments include Brasserie Pas-cal in Fashion Island, where we are served the endearing and comfortable French food that has always been Pascal’s trademark. Now, some of the best dishes from Traditions will now be added to this menu. This charmer evokes a handsome Parisian bistro, with an aura of genteel sophistication that makes any meal extra special.
Chef Consultant
Pascal is also a managing chef/consultant at two other well-known OC restaurants, French 75 in Laguna Beach and Savannah Chop House in Laguna Niguel, where some of his previous chefs from Tradition by Pascal are in charge of the kitchen.
Pascal also runs two casual dining and take-out restaurants. Pascal Épicerie in Newport Beach is a friendly little shop that continues to sell some of his signature dishes for final cooking at home, along with a wide range of cheeses, charcuterie, condiments, bakery items and wines.
He also has the friendly little Pascal at MacArthur Square in Santa Ana. This is a darling place with a fairly extensive menu of
casual French fare for in-house dining. Épicerie-style items to take out are also available.
Pascal is currently creating new ready-to-cook dishes for both, bringing in more good wines and cheeses, and branding some of his homemade products in these venues.
And then there is Café Jardin, serving persuasive French lunch items (weekdays) and the Tea Garden Crêperie (weekends only) serving sweet and savory crêpes. Both are nestled in the tranquility of Sherman Gardens in Corona del Mar.
Cookbook
Pascal says he’s planning to start writing his cookbook in which he will tell about his lifetime with food and share his recipes. Few people know that he’s an accomplished painter.
He wants to create more art and says it would be a dream to have a cooking program in which he could host young, aspiring chefs and the growers and purveyors who supply fine products to the restaurants.
Meantime, I’m looking forward to visiting one of his restaurants for a slather of pâté on some crusty warm bread, some wild Burgundy escargot, a half-and-half platter of hot and cold oysters, baked brie on a curly frisée salad, a croque monsieur sandwich, French lobster roll, real steak and frites, coq au vin, and an apricot or lemon tart.
If his rabbit in mustard sauce or sea bass in its little moat of broth happens to show up, I’ll be there in a minute.
