| Cafe Chuleto |
by Catherine Krantz
February 2004
Famous in Zihuatanejo for his excellent food and colorful personality Swiss Chef Paul Karrer was a local legend.
His untimely death last year deprived Zihuatanejo of one of it’s most renowned restaurants and left an entire community with a tremendous sense of loss. Friends and fans of the restaurant alike mourned for the gregarious character that was Chef Paul and for the legacy of the restaurant he had spent so many years creating.
Originally from Switzerland, Paul had been living in Zihuatanejo for 20 years, working first as a chef for several notable hotels before opening up his own restaurant. The name and the location changed a few times but the final name was Chez Paul’s Restaurant and the final location was on the main street in central Zihuatanejo, Benito Juarez. From the very beginning Paul amassed a very loyal team. Chef Lionel Manjarrez Polanco had worked with Paul in hotel kitchens even before Paul opened his first restaurant, and had been with him in total 17 years. Maria Dolores Martinez Navarrete, the hostess and manager whose broad smile one would immediately see upon entering Paul’s, had also been with him from the beginning, having worked for Paul since his very first restaurant 12 years ago. “He was the best boss in the world,” Maria said emphatically and insisted that it be mentioned, “I have never worked for better.” They both spoke of his great kindness and warmth and it is obvious that they loved him dearly.
Months were spent wondering what would become of Chez Paul’s Restaurant now that he was gone and for the staff who had worked with him for so long, the thought of simply saying goodbye was too much to bear. After a few month hiatus the staff, his very first employees and his very last employees, decided to re-open the restaurant. They were rightly proud of the restaurant and the reputation they had helped build and wanted to keep it going in Paul’s memory. They found an agreeable location on Paseo del Pecador in Zihuatanejo and named the new restaurant Café Chuleto, after Paul’s nickname, chuleto.
Upon hearing of the staff’s decision to re-open the restaurant one local chef commented, “What better homage to a chef then to keep his cooking alive.”
It seems Paul’s loyal fans agree. Open now for 5 months, the results are unanimously in, Café Chuleto, the new Paul’s with the same heart, the same menu and the same staff is delighting diners yet again and we can only hope that Chef Paul would be as pleased as the rest of us to have his recipes living on.
At Café Chuleto you can find the same International cuisine Chez Paul’s was so famous for: the seasonal specials of Duck Breast in ginger sauce, Curry Shrimp and Lamb Chops in provincial sauce, as well as the year round favorites: Quail, Pork Chops in mushroom sauce and his signature steamed artichokes with house dressing. You can find Lionel, Maria and the rest of the talented team in their corner location on the fisherman’s walk, one block before the pier, under the light blue awning with the familiar Swiss flag logo. Open daily 3pm, except Tuesdays, tel. 544-6639.
Photo: Paul, left, Maria second from right with her daughter Sonia, center, (who is now the cashier at Cafe Chuleto), in 1991, in front of La Marina, Paul’s first restaurant in Zihuatanejo on Cinco de Mayo.
February 2004 |
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