Photo Credit: Chuck Place
Star chef Anthony Bourdain’s masterpiece book, “Kitchen Confidential,” (published in 2000) was more than an entertaining deep dive into the “culinary underbelly” of the restaurant world. It offered inspiration. To some, the wild but true tales from behind the kitchen doors of America were just too wild to ever explore in person. Yet to others it was a calling card to a lifetime career as a professional chef. Goleta native Paul Osborne, now executive chef at the new Santa Barbara Fish Market in Goleta, was one of those.
Osborne says he read “Kitchen Confidential” at age 11 (a noble feat for a sixth-grader) while living with his parents in Paris, France. He says he was instantly “hooked on the industry” and has been studying culinary arts ever since. In high school he worked as a dishwasher and prep cook for a summer cheerleading camp at UCSB. “We cooked three meals a day for 2,000 students … everything from Mongolian BBQ to European-styled pizzas and casseroles. Needless to say, my knife skills got really good in a hurry.”
As you might guess, it was on to culinary school at Santa Barbara City College School of Culinary Arts where he studied under chef Charlie Fredrickson, formerly executive chef at bouchon Santa Barbara.
“I received great training and hands-on experience from that program,” he said. “It really was the launch to my career.”
After graduating in 2009, Osborne spent the next five years in Portland, Oregon, where he was chef de cusine at Bamboo Sushi, a high-end corporate sushi chain. Then it was back to Santa Barbara where he continued his corporate career for the next five years as chef de cuisine at both Hotel California’s Blackbird restaurant and then at Rosewood Miramar Beach’s Caruso’s. “I traded executive chef jobs back and forth between the two kitchens,” he says. “The amount I learned from the experience was truly amazing.”
As a seasoned buyer of seafood and an avid fisherman himself, Osborne has rubbed shoulders with the professional fishing crowd in Santa Barbara for yesars, including Santa Barbara Fish Market owner Brian Colgate. He says he’s known Colgate as a fisherman and a customer for years, but while working at the resorts he cultivated a relationship with SBFM partner Laszlo Nemeth.
“I met Laz at some charity events and when he sourced some special items for my menus,” Osborne recalls. “Laszlo put Brian and me together last spring when the fish shop was still under construction. He shared his ideas for the restaurant with me and the three of us hit it off instantly. We have a very similar passion for bring people together with fresh, local seafood.”
The Goleta location opened in October of 2023 with an assortment of Osborne’s favorite recipes for fish tacos, poke bowls, and specialty dishes including Sicilian swordfish meatballs. When asked what his favorite dish is to prepare, he says he likes experimenting and refining his smoked fish processes. There’s also an array of Osborne’s special sauces including a very tasty ponzu marinated ikura.
The idea for the restaurant portion is to be gourmet casual with unbounded flavors for both sit down and take away. The market portion is designed like the original shop in the Santa Barbara Harbor but five times bigger. Says Osborne, “Our goal is to connect seafood enthusiasts, home cooks and food aficionados in general with the finest seafood found anywhere.”
Osborne enjoys his new position, away from the hectic pressures of a corporate kitchen. His hours are reasonable, and his energy is boundless. “My quality of life has increased dramatically since leaving corporate,” he says. “I have a much deeper connection with the local community through this company and I’m excited to spend holidays with my family, which hasn’t happened since 2016.”
