Michael's CateringWedding Services in Santa Barbara, CA

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.