Chef inspired to share the joy and passion of paella

Chef Paul Schmidgall calls paella “the perfect food.” He first discovered the traditional rice dish in Majorca, Spain.

Photo by Carol Joseph

Michele Farrell, aka Carmen Miranda, poses with Chef Paul during a recent Spanish fiesta for Savoy condominium members and guests.

Photo by Carol Joseph

Fresh shrimp, clams and mussels are among the last ingredients to go into Chef Paul’s paella.

Photo by Carol Joseph

It was almost 25 years ago when Paul Schmidgall was first introduced to paella, a traditional Spanish rice dish, and he remembers the event like it was yesterday.

Schmidgall was traveling through Europe, playing rugby for the U.S. Air Force, when he found himself having dinner in Majorca, Spain.

“It was a Sunday evening meal and it lasted for hours,” he recalled fondly. “There was an old lady, she was 85 plus, and she was making paella and it was one of those magical things that you remember. She just put all her heart, soul and effort into it. And people could tell when they tasted it.”

The memory of that first paella dinner, and the passion and care that went into making it, helped inspire Schmidgall, 42, to pursue a culinary career and eventually create Chef Paul’s Paella, a one-of-a-kind catering company that turns the art of cooking paella into an event.

“It’s not just food. It’s the whole experience. It’s dinner and a show basically,” Schmidgall said of the company he started in 2011 with partner Rebecca Taylor. “It’s just so much fun and Naples is the perfect venue for it.”

Working primarily outdoors with gigantic three- and five-foot paella pans, Schmidgall serves as both the chef and the entertainment as he cooks up his specialty dish featuring handmade sausage, fresh vegetables, local fish and seafood, and saffron and rice imported from Spain.

During a recent rooftop party at the Savoy condominiums in Naples, Schmidgall laughed and talked with guests, posed for pictures, answered questions and even offered cooking tips as he sautéed, simmered and stirred.

“That’s the fun part of the job,” he insisted. “Every time I go to work, it’s a party.”

Schmidgall says what he loves most about his job is interacting with people, making them smile and sharing his passion for cooking paella. “I show everybody exactly how to make it. If they ask, I’ll give them the recipe. I’m happy to.”

Unlike most chefs who like to keep their trademark recipes a secret, Schmidgall claims there’s no real secret to making great paella; it just takes passion. And that’s something Schmidgall has an abundance of.

“It’s such a great dish,” he exclaimed. “I just want to share it with people.”

The classically trained chef says he caters everything from small private parties to major fundraisers that draw crowds of 1,000 or more. “Anyone that’s willing to have a paella party, they’re just good people. It’s the perfect food. And it’s good fun.”

Both Schmidgall and his paella impressed party hosts Lorraine Nelson, 72, and Mary Doherty, 71, both part-time Naples residents.

“He’s such a charmer and he’s got a fabulous personality,” Doherty said.

“It was so good, I couldn’t stop eating it,” Nelson said of the first time she sampled Schmidgall’s paella at the Coconut Point Farmer’s Market where he sets up a booth every Thursday.

Schmidgall first fell in love with cooking while working at a restaurant in Germany, where he was stationed with the U.S. Air Force in 1988. He saw the way the chefs treated and respected food and the passion it evoked in them. “It’s such a difficult, hard, brutal career. There has to be a lot of passion and love behind it, otherwise you wouldn’t do it,” Schmidgall observed.

After his time in the service, Schmidgall attended the prestigious Johnson Wales University in Rhode Island where he fulfilled his lifelong dream of going to college. “I was grateful every day that I was there,” he admitted.

He graduated with degrees in culinary arts and food marketing and took a job as a private chef for a family in Peoria, Ill., Schmidgall’s hometown. When the family moved to Naples in 1998, Schmidgall moved with them and worked for them for the next seven and a half years. “It was an amazing experience,” he recalled fondly. He said his boss, who was also his mentor, gave him a lot of good business advice that Schmicgall still follows today.

Ultimately, Schmidgall says he would like to franchise his business, so he’s in the process of setting that up now.

“I really do want to help people,” he acknowledged. He sees franchises as a great way for people who are passionate about food to be able own their own business without having to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars. “People can buy a trailer that I set up, work with me for a couple of weeks and have their own fire and rice company. That’s the goal for me.”

So far, the response to his Schmidgall’s paella has been very positive. During the recent Naples Craft Beer Fest, Chef Paul’s Paella won the People’s Choice Award and tied for Best Pairing.

“The food is to die for,” Schmidgall said without the slightest hint of arrogance. “I’d like to say that I can take the credit for it, but I can’t. There’s a little old lady in Spain that will always get all the credit for everything I do. And oddly, I don’t even know her name.”

Which wine with paella?

Every nation has its one-pot meal and for Spain it’s paella, a dish that is synonymous with the country. As with all these classic dishes, there is always much debate over the correct ingredients – with paella it’s usually whether there should be seafood in it or not. But regardless of that, this is one of those dishes that can be accompanied by number of different wines. I prefer red, but you could easily try white. Perhaps the only rule of thumb is try to keep it Spanish! Rioja Muriel Reserva Vendimia Seleccionada 2006, Rioja (Majestic £7.49, but two for £5.99) is really great value at this offer price and would work perfectly with a paella.

Top tipple

Emina Pasión, Ribera del Duero 2009

Made from 100 per cent Tempranillo grapes, the nose shows aromas of dark fruits and coffee.

Available from ocado.com – now on offer at £10.99, from £12.99

paella Recipes with Bill & Sheila(click on the graphic for more information)

Return from paella to Home Page

If you want to increase your site popularity and gain thousands of visitors – check out these sites THEY ARE FREE. Spanishchef more than doubled its ‘New Visitors’ last month simply by signing up to these sites:

Follow spanishchef.net on TWITTER