Hollister native Rob Stevens was on his way right after college.
It just happened to be the wrong way.
Hollister native Rob Stevens was on his way right after college. It just happened to be the wrong way.
After graduating from California State University, Sacramento, Stevens went to work in the finance department of multinational chemical corporation Dow Chemical, but he was desperately unhappy, stuck behind a desk in a drab cubicle. It wasn’t the life he’d envisioned, so he decided to change it.
Stevens asked his grandmother for a loan, quit his job and enrolled at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. It was the first in a series of moves that would lead him, more than 17 years later, back to Hollister and the kitchen of local landmark Paine’s restaurant.
“When I went to school, I didn’t think I would have a restaurant so quickly, but I always wanted to get back downtown,” said Stevens, who left the Inn at Tres Pinos, a venture he’d started with a partner in 1991, and went into business with another partner, John Nolan. “Paine’s is kind of a place for everyone.”
The restaurant’s varied clientele – families with kids, couples in search of a romantic evening out and business groups – also demand a varied chef, and that’s just what Stevens provides.
“I can do anything from hamburgers and hot dogs to your finest caviars and foie gras, but I think it’s most important to be adaptable to the clientele we serve,” said Stevens, whose following includes patrons who have dined each week at Paine’s for the last 20 years, and those who’ve followed him from restaurant to restaurant in the Hollister-San Juan Bautista area.
Stevens’ attributes his range in the kitchen to his broad base of experience. He’s worked every position in each of the restaurants at Pebble Beach and brought life to the Inn at Tres Pinos. He’s also worked as executive souse chef at Seattle’s Olympic Four Seasons and served as executive chef at Ridgemark County Club in Hollister.
Paine’s, said Stevens, tends to focus on more standard American fare – beef is their number one selling item – but that doesn’t mean he can’t innovate.
Later this month, the restaurant will debut an updated menu, said Stevens, which simplifies recipes and adds flavor to dishes thanks to improved quality.
“If you use a good product and prepare it simply, you’re going to get a good end product,” said Stevens. “I use a lot of fresh vegetables from local farmers. We’re known for our rotisserie-roasted prime rib, but now we’re going to be doing it over a hard-wood grill, so it will bring out the flavor even more. It’s things like that.”
But it’s sauces that are Stevens’ specialty. During his time at Pebble Beach, he spent a year preparing all soups, sauces and stocks for the resort’s four restaurants, and he’s interested in practicing his skills in the restaurant’s newly redecorated banquet hall, preparing custom meals to suit the occasion. Now, in charge of his own staff of cooks, he’s faced with a new challenge.
“I’m trying to teach my guys consistency,” said Stevens. “Consistency is the key to success in the restaurant business. If you come in here tonight and you order the filet mignon, and you come back in a month to find its all different, you’re not going to be as happy. You’re going to want it to be just as perfect as last time, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
Stevens serves as executive chef at Paine’s restaurant, located at 421 East St. in Hollister. To make reservations for parties of one to 180, call (831) 637-3878.
