By Katherine Duncan
Executive Chef and partner Yvon Goetz combines his French culinary training with local, seasonal ingredients to create the sophisticated menu at The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar, where diners can begin a meal with a salad of California tomatoes and conclude it with a French classic like creme brulee. The chef, whose accolades include the AAA Five Diamond Award and multiple Chef of the Year honors, describes his cooking style as “wine country-driven.” It’s a perfect match for The Winery Restaurant & Wine Bar, which features a wine list with 650 selections that change weekly; guests even have the option to tour the the restaurant’s climate-controlled cellars, which can house up to 7,500 bottles.
While the exact preparation is still being determined, the chef plans to craft a dish around Maple Leaf Farms duck breast for the Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Saturday Grand Tasting Pavilion on Oct. 3.
FIVE QUESTIONS WITH YVON GOETZ
Biggest kitchen pet peeve?
I take time and pride in composing a dish and it’s disheartening when guests change or dissect an entire dish with special requests.
If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
YG’s Alsatian Pizza … my grandmother used to make it for me when I was a young boy. I’ve had it on my menu since The Winery opened. It’s to die for.
What did you make for dinner last night?
Last night, I only cooked for our guests–not for myself!
What’s the first dish you remember cooking?
Fresh butter brioche with my Grandmother. I’ll never forget it.
Name one famous figure you’d most like to cook for.
The famous Zinedine Zidane–I’m a huge World Cup fan and he’s a legendary soccer player known for a now-famous “headbutt” during the World Cup!
THE WINERY RESTAURANT & WINE BAR
3131 W. Pacific Coast Highway
949-999-6622
NEWPORT BEACH WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL
Newport Beach Magazine is a sponsor of the 2015 Newport Beach Wine & Food Festival.
