Michael Hutchings
Encyclopedia
Michael Hutchings is a professional chef who is best known as the chef/owner of Michael's Waterside in Santa Barbara, California
, appearances with Julia Child
on the PBS cooking program Dinner at Julia's and on Cox Television with Jeanne Berg's Cooking Local program.
at the private Club 33
, he was apprenticed to Chef Rudolph Stoy and Michael's priorities changed. Michael Hutchings eventually became executive chef of Club 33, then worked under several Los Angeles chefs including James Sly at La Serre (formerly Chef/Owner at Lucky's in Santa Barbara, California), Jean Grodin, executive chef of L'Orangerie, Los Angeles.
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. Chef Michael has been called a legend in the March 2007 edition of Seasons magazine for his role in bringing modern cuisine to Santa Barbara in the early 1980s.
After selling the Michael's Waterside in 1993, Chef Michael Hutchings hung his toque at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, Bank of America
executive dining room, the Tower Club in Charlotte, Kaiser Grill and St. James in Palm Springs
. Chef Michael currently oversees a food consulting and service business in Santa Barbara.
Hutchings is married to Christine Dahl, also a chef.
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, appearances with Julia Child
Julia Child
Julia Child was an American chef, author, and television personality. She is recognized for introducing French cuisine to the American public with her debut cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and her subsequent television programs, the most notable of which was The French Chef, which...
on the PBS cooking program Dinner at Julia's and on Cox Television with Jeanne Berg's Cooking Local program.
Biography
Like many other contemporary American chefs, Michael Hutchings 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 DisneylandDisneyland Park (Anaheim)
Disneyland Park is a theme park located in Anaheim, California, owned and operated by the Walt Disney Parks and Resorts division of the Walt Disney Company. Known as Disneyland when it opened on July 18, 1955, and still almost universally referred to by that name, it is the only theme park to be...
at the private Club 33
Club 33
Club 33 is a private club located in the heart of the New Orleans Square section of Disneyland. Officially maintained as a secret feature of the theme park, the entrance of the club is located next to the Blue Bayou Restaurant at "33 Royal Street" with the entrance recognizable by an ornate address...
, he was apprenticed to Chef Rudolph Stoy and Michael's priorities changed. Michael Hutchings eventually became executive chef of Club 33, then worked under several Los Angeles chefs including James Sly at La Serre (formerly Chef/Owner at Lucky's in Santa Barbara, California), Jean Grodin, executive chef of L'Orangerie, Los Angeles.
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. Chef Michael has been called a legend in the March 2007 edition of Seasons magazine for his role in bringing modern cuisine to Santa Barbara in the early 1980s.
After selling the Michael's Waterside in 1993, Chef Michael Hutchings hung his toque at the Santa Barbara Polo Club, Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
executive dining room, the Tower Club in Charlotte, Kaiser Grill and St. James in Palm Springs
Palm Springs
Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...
. Chef Michael currently oversees a food consulting and service business in Santa Barbara.
Hutchings is married to Christine Dahl, also a chef.
Career highlights
- Michael's Waterside listings in Mobile Guide, AAA Guide, Zagat Guide, Gault MillauGault MillauGault et Millau is one of the most influential French restaurant guides founded by two restaurant critics, Henri Gault and Christian Millau in 1965. Gault Millau is most famous for its rating system, on a scale of 1 to 20. Restaurants below 10 points are almost never listed...
- Travel Holiday Award 1985 to 1992, award discontinued
- Distinguished Restaurant of North America Award 1993
- Press credits with Time Magazine, Gourmet Magazine, Bon AppetitBon AppétitBon Appétit describes itself as "a food and entertaining magazine" and is published monthly. Named after the French phrase for "Enjoy your meal", it was started by M. Frank Jones in Kansas City in 1956...
, Chocolatiere and others - Guest Chef at Beard House in New York 1986 and 1990
- Guest Chef at Ahwahnee HotelAhwahnee HotelThe Ahwahnee Hotel is a destination hotel in Yosemite National Park, California, on the floor of Yosemite Valley, constructed from stone, concrete, wood and glass, which opened in 1927...
in Yosemite National ParkYosemite National ParkYosemite National Park is a United States National Park spanning eastern portions of Tuolumne, Mariposa and Madera counties in east central California, United States. The park covers an area of and reaches across the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountain chain... - Special Event Coordinator for KCBX public radio at Hearst CastleHearst CastleHearst Castle is a National Historic Landmark mansion located on the Central Coast of California, United States. It was designed by architect Julia Morgan between 1919 and 1947 for newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who died in 1951. In 1957, the Hearst Corporation donated the property to...
Historical Monument - Chef Coordinator for Central Coast Wine Auction 1992-1997
- Guest Chef at "Merci Julia" event celebrating Julia Child's 80th birthday in 1992
- Appeared on Dinner at Julia's video magazine with Julia Child
- Charitable fund raising for Red Cross, United Way, Cancer Society, Juvenile Diabetics
- Cooking video on CNN, NBC, and in France, Germany and Japan
- Julia Child's 40th Anniversary on PBS Beef Bourguignonne event, 2003 with the [AIWF]
- Guest chef at Hearst Castle for the Central Coast Wine Classic 2006