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Chef in the Spotlight
Chef Paul Matthews, Ciao Bella
By JoAnn Cummings, Feature Writer
Ciao Bella means Hello Beautiful and that’s what you will be saying to your food when it ar- rives after a visit to Chef Paul Matthews’ world. The executive Chef of Ciao Bella Ristorante Ital- iano in Port Clinton believes food is a balance of all the senses, not just taste. Meals should be ex- perienced with your eyes and your nose as well as your taste buds. His career has been a pursuit of the balance of these things to create the perfect sensory experience.
Recently, Chef Paul took a trip to Italy to learn about the cuisine he has worked with for many years. “My goal was to get first-hand experience. I have been working with this cuisine for 15 years and this is my first trip to Italy. I wanted to com- pare and contrast what we do with what is done in the regions where this cuisine was born,” Mat- thews said. The chef spent 12 days in Italy travel-
Chef Paul Matthews
ling in the North and as far south as Rome. “The Southern regions will be explored on future trips.” During his tenure at Ciao Bella, the chef has brought what he’s learned to the Port Clinton area. He’s hosted wine dinner nights where wines are specifically paired with food items, Italian street fair dinners featuring small plates from every region of Italy, Italian clam bakes, and an Italian wild game dinner. These special events provide the opportunity for the chef to spread his wings and provide diners with multi-course meals to experience the world of food. “I was very happy to discover that we’re doing pretty well. The big- gest difference I found was that food over there seemed simpler. Here we tend to dress it up more
as far as presentation goes.”
During his trip he made sure to have what was
famous in each region. In Rome, he ate porchet- ta, in Milan he ate veal and risotto Milanese. He visited Rome, Milan, Verona, and Venice. While there, he spent time working in 4 different kitch- ens. He worked with masters who’ve been making pasta for 50 years. “I learned some short cuts and some different ways of doing things. You’ll defi- nitely see those things here (at Ciao Bella). One place I had this thick cut, spaghetti type egg pasta, with a saffron cream sauce. It was so good.” Imag-
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BIOGRAPHY - Chef Paul Matthews
• 3 children
• From Michigan
• Has worked in Chicago, New York, and Salt Lake City as well as the Midwest
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