Chef Josh Korn of Paul Martin's American Bistro Concentrates on the Little Things

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Total views: 113 | Word Count: 758 | Date: Sat, 8 May 2010 | 15 comments

After twenty years in the restaurant business, Chef Josh Korn has come to realize that it's the little things that count the most. "You start to realize sometimes that less is more. Simpler is better," he shares, as he talks about the Paul Martin's American Bistro mantra of "Eat organic. Believe in sustainable. Buy local. Love fresh." After a career working in restaurants from seafood, Italian and Miami-Cuban fusion concepts to high-end steak houses like Houston's and Ruth's Chris, Korn has found his inspiration at Paul Martin's.

Korn started in the restaurant business with a summer job at age 15 in Philadelphia. Like most teenage boys, his focus was on making money, rather than any burning passion for the restaurant business. He worked one shift as a dishwasher and was promoted to the salad bar, and continued moving up, beginning his journey through a wide variety of concepts and cuisines. "I've had the privilege and opportunity to work next to and under a lot of extremely intelligent people that had a lot to offer," Korn says of his years of experience. "So I just worked really hard and paid really close attention to what people have taught me and used all of that to get to where I am now."

It wasn't until he reached California, which he describes as "the produce capital of the world" that Korn realized what he had been missing. He is still amazed at the abundance of produce that is available to create Paul Martin's "farm to table" style of cuisine. "You're surrounded by fresh local produce that's grown sustainably by local farmers that are out in the fields picking the stuff in the morning and bringing it to your backdoor," he explains. He values the relationships he has forged with farmers who have actually started growing things specifically for Korn and the Paul Martin's kitchen, allowing them to create menu items based on what's the freshest at any given time. "That was big for me. I wasn't really exposed to that until I joined Paul Martin's," he confides.

Maintaining relationships with restaurant guests is also important to Chef Josh, who personally answers emails daily, and embraces the fact that Paul Martin's can reassure guests that special dietary needs can always be met. His commitment is to making sure every guest feels welcome and can take advantage of a kitchen full of fresh produce, meats and fish every day. "We pride ourselves on accommodating everyone, and if we can be that restaurant for people, they will continue to come back because they know we will accommodate them." he explains.

Chef Josh is also committed to the simplicity of Paul Martin's cuisine, which was initially a foreign concept to him. He says, "The reason we prepare food so simply is that the ingredients we use are so individually outstanding that we want them all to stand out by themselves." Still a meat-lover, he leans toward a steak dinner as his favorite menu item at the Bistro. "I love steak. Our New York steak is hand-cut prime steak that's grilled over mesquite charcoal. We serve it with roasted red potatoes and some grilled asparagus, and it's just absolutely to die for." After spending years in steak houses, Korn insists that Paul Martins' beef from Meyer Natural Angus is the best he has ever tasted.

Korn is definitely loving the "simple life" at Paul Martin's American Bistro, where working hand-in-hand with local farmers and purveyors allows him to create flavorful seasonal specials and incorporate surprise menu items when a vendor has something too good to pass up. He says, "If one of my vendors or purveyors calls me and says they have something amazing and I have to take a look at it…and they bring it and it's just so amazing, we'll find a way to put something together to get it to the guests." Using his talent to create dishes full of just-picked flavor and top-quality ingredients while shortening the food chain from farmer to guest is rewarding enough to inspire this exceptional chef every day.

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